Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth :x: Chosen One
by FerreTrip
Summary: Ash Ketchum loses his world to the Heartless...and discovers that his Pokémon journey has just grown one heck of a leg: one involving an old friend, fighting on his own, and discovering the powers of aura. Subplot to KH: PoT. Please review if read!
1. 00, 01: A Date with Destiny Islands

**Bit 0: (Prolouge)**

_Falling..._

_'...Mew...'_

_Memories..._

_'...Articuno...Zapdos...Moltres...Lugia...'_

_Darkness..._

_'...The Unown...Entei...'_

_Wishes..._

_'...Celebi...'_

_Hopes..._

_'...Latias...Latios...'_

_Pain..._

_'...Jirachi...'_

_Friends..._

_'...Deoxys...Rayquaza...'_

_Dreams..._

_'...Manaphy...'_

_Fears..._

_'...Lucario...'_

_Worries..._

_'...Mew...two...'_

_Falling..._

_'...Pi...Pi...'_

"Uuuuuhhhhnn..." A young black-haired boy slowly opened his eyes, feeling totally wiped. He saw he was on a bed in a shack somewhere. He heard the ocean nearby. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open and he sat up straight. "PIKACHU!" Ash Ketchum cried, and he threw off the covers. He was in nothing but his shirt and jeans, which were intact. He found his shoes, socks, gloves, vest, hat, and trusty backpack, then raced out the door. "PIKA-huh?" He stopped as he saw a beach. To his right was a green area with a pool of water. He blinked. "What...where...where am I?" he asked nobody confused.

"EEY! WATCH OUT!" cried out a sort of Jamaican-accented voice.

"Huh?" Ash turned to look, finally focusing on finer details, and found a ball come up and kiss his face. "YOW!" He fell back a little from the force and stumbled back to the wall of the shack, holding his face.

"Heheheh! I told ya to watch out!" said the voice again. Ash opened his eyes and looked down at the beach. A boy with hair that looked sort of like the tip of a soft serve, with the spiral lick, stood grinning at him. "Welcome to the Destiny Islands!" he greeted, holding his ball.

Ash blinked. "Wh...where?" he asked. "I was...I was just in a place called Nightsky City! And...and..." he trailed off, seeing the look of loss on the other boy's face.

The other boy sighed and shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "we just found you washed up on the beach last night. We dunno where you be from."

Ash gaped, then narrowed his eyes, shook his head and looked around. "Have you seen a Pikachu around here, by any chance?" he asked, putting his hands on the railing of the walkway surrounding the shack he stood on.

The other boy gave a quizzical look. "Bless you, or do you mean something else?"

"I mean a Pi-ka-chu," he said slowly, pronouncing each syllable so that it didn't sound like a sneeze.

The other boy's look got more quizzical. "Aaahhh...I've never heard of a Pikachu," he said, sounding like he wondered if he hit Ash too hard.

Ash blinked his eyes wide. "What?" He shook his head. "Are you kidding me?" He was about to say something else when he gasped and put his hand to his belt. His heart froze as he patted his belt all around. Suddenly, he raced inside the shack.

The orange-haired kid blinked in confusion. "Uuuuuuh...oooookaaaayyyy..." He turned and walked off, shrugging.

Ash, meanwhile, was tearing through the inside of the shack, which was actually pretty small. He quickly had looked everywhere. All he found was dust. A look of pure, horrorified shock spread on his face as he fell to his knees. "My...My pokémon..." he whispered. "They're gone...Pikachu, too...And I don't know where I am...where my friends are...or what the heck happened last night...or whenever that happened..." He was staring at the woodwork in the floor as he realized that he was alone in a strange place. Tears fell from his eyes and stained the wood. After a moment, he began to cry, banging his fist on the floor.

**Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth - Chosen One**

(or **KH: PoT - Chosen One**)

**Bit 1: Destiny Islands**

A while later, Ash stood up, bearing it. He looked around, then went out the door. The ocean scene met him once again. He swung himself down off the walkway onto the beach close below. After landing, he walked along the sand, looking around. "Destiny Islands," he muttered, then wondered if he'd picked up a map recently and opened his backpack. He gasped when he saw that he only had his sleeping bag and changes of underwear with him. Nothing else. He gaped, then sighed and put the pack back on and reached into his pocket to take out his badge case. With an immense sigh of releif, he found that his badges, at least, were safe and sound. "Well, every cloud has a silver lining," he muttered, putting it away. He then remembered his trusty pokédex and reached for it. He paled when he found he was without that, too. "Oh, great, all I have is my sleeping bag, some underwear, and my badges?" he complained, then sighed deeply and hung his arms low in defeat. "How can things get any worse...?" he asked.

His answer was a slam on the head, and he stumbled back a bit, then regained his balance. He anger-veined when he saw the blue ball again. "HEY! COWLIP KID!" he roared as the orange-haired boy came from behind a rock to retreive his ball. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMIN' THAT THING, ALREADY!"

The kid sweatdropped. "Hey, hey, it wasn't all my fault," he defended himself, holding up his hands. "It bounced. And my name's Wakka, not 'Cowlip Kid.'"

Ash sighed and picked up the ball. "Sorry, I'm in a bad mood," he told Wakka, walking the ball over to him. "I'm in a place I've never been before, I've got no idea where my friends are, and all I've got with me are my clothes, badges, backpack, sleeping bag, and spare underwear. You'd be in a bad mood, too."

Wakka smiled sympathetically. "You must have gotten into a real bad storm or something," he said, his ball being given back to him. "You must have been seperated from your friends and your stuff must have washed away."

Ash looked down, sad-faced. "I guess that's a good way of putting it," he mumbled, remembering the experience. He walked past Wakka. "I'm going to just look around this place for a bit," he said, and went off.

After turning around a cliff corner, he raised his eyebrows as he saw a little camp of sorts. There was a dock, a wall, a treehouse system, and a few other kids playing in the sand. "Wow, nice place," he commented to nobody.

"Yeah," Wakka agreed happily, walking up beside him. "It's our home away from home, and it's great!" He grinned and ran over to the other kids. "'Ey, guys! The kid who washed up yesterday's awake!" he called as he ran over.

Ash sweatdropped at this, then walked forwards and went over to the crowd. The other ones stopped playing and came over to investigate. A blonde-haired kid with a long, red stick came over, looking him over. "How're you feeling?" he asked him.

Ash made a small smile, his emotions not allowing him to do much else. "Fine," he half-lied.

A young, brown-haired girl with a jumprope came over and put her hands behind her back. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he answered.

The girl grinned back. "That's a nice name!" she said. "I'm Selphie."

"I'm Tidus!" the stick-holding boy introduced.

Wakka laughed and held a hand up. "You already know who I am," he said.

Ash nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Where are you from?" asked another boy. Ash looked and saw a teenager wearing red shorts with chains, a white short-sleeve hoodie jacket, a pair of gloves, and a chain around his neck bearing a crown-like pendant. He had blue, alive eyes and spikey, brown hair. He also wore big, goofy-ish yellow shoes.

Ash answered, "Pallet Town," and wasn't all that surprised when a look of confusion registered on every face around him. "In the Kanto region?" he tried to help. Nothing. He blinked. "Sheesh, is this even Japan anymore?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Well, yeah," answered another boy. He had on sorta pantaloon-ish blue and black pants, a skintight yellow tank shirt with an "X" of black straps, gloves, and shoes smaller than his friend's. His hair was white, short, and down in thin spikes. His eyes were blue, as well. He had a 'badass' vibe to him. He crossed his arms. "Never heard of Kanto being called a region, though."

Ash looked confused. "Uhm...What region am I in, then?" he asked.

The other girl there giggled and came over. She had a white tanktop, bracelets, a purple miniskirt, white shoes(normal-looking), and brown, short hair. She had cute blue eyes. "Just plain ol' Destiny Islands," she answered.

Ash gaped. "Then..." He suddenly tried something, clenching his fists. "You guys've heard of pokémon, right?" he asked, a little scared.

When everyone gave him looks of confusion, he knew right away that he wasn't in Sinnoh anymore, or even the country he was born, despite the fact this was Japan. He gawked in shock. "No...No way..." He looked down at the sand. "This...I...But...How..."

"Ash?" The trainer looked up and saw the brown-haired boy come over, a dutiful expression on his face. "I think we can explain." He looked to Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. "You guys hang out on your own," he told them. "We want to talk to Ash alone."

The three made sounds of agreement, then went back to playing. Ash noticed that by "playing," I mean "fighting." Selphie was using her jumprope like a whip, Tidus used his stick like a sword, and Wakka used his ball by throwing it at them. Ash was tugged by the arm, and he turned to see the brown-haired kid motioning to go. He walked off with them.

They went to a little island with a big tree on it, connected by a wooden bridge. It was a beautiful view of the ocean. Above, in the branches of the tree whose shade he now stood in, Ash noticed star-shaped fruits.

"Ash." He turned to face the three.

"What?" he asked. "What do you guys want?" He felt a little on edge, and clenched his fists.

The brown-haired boy came forward. "First off, let's get our names out," he said. He put a hand to his chest. "I'm Sora."

"Riku," said the white-haired boy.

The girl nodded. "My name's Kairi."

Ash nodded. "Nice to meet you," he returned. He looked at Sora. "What is it?"

Sora sighed and looked at him. "You've probably noticed that we look a little different from you," he said. Ash started a little. Sora smiled sympathetically. "And I bet you've realized that this isn't the place you remember, in any way at all, too."

Ash nodded slowly. "Where the heck am I, then?" he demanded, narrowing his eyebrows a little.

"In a different world." Riku stepped forward. "You're inside a completely different world, a whole other reality," he explained. "There's no such thing as 'pokémon' here."

Ash gaped at him. "No...No pokémon?" he repeated breathlessly, shock filling him. "Pikachu...no..." He looked down slowly, realizing what horrible things this new world might have in store for him and, wherever they were, his pokémon and friends.

"I'm sorry, Ash," Kairi said, and he looked up at her. She had a truly sympathetic face on her. "We all are. And we all understand all too well the feeling of suddenly being in another world, not a friend in sight, no familiar things at all around." She looked down a little as she remembered her own experiences.

Sora asked, "Ash, what happened last? Do you remember?"

Ash looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, all too well," he replied. He closed his eyes as the images flashed by his memory. "First, I was in a place called Nightsky City, during this huge, all-city party that was so thick, we couldn't get out. Me and my friends Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu were with this one guy who I have a feeling wasn't who he appeared to be, named Maru. We had just gotten out of the center when he and Pikachu looked up, really tense." He clenched his fists tight as he remembered. "Soon, these weird black things started appearing after the lights all went out. Pikachu could use his Electric attacks and fend them off, but Maru, using this old wooden cane, couldn't. Not until he began kicking them, at least. A few of the people in the crowd, which was getting smaller because those black things were making people vanish, were somehow able to whack them away, too. I think they were from this one little fighting tournament they had that Maru won," he remembered, tilting his head a bit.

"Then, I got my other pokémon out and told them to use their attacks to destroy any of the black things that tried to fight us. Dawn and Brock did the same. We kept running, trying to find a way out, but we ended up on this stage they had there. By then, we had to recall our pokémon because they were getting tired, and Maru and Pikachu looked tired, too. I think during this, Maru said that the black things were stealing peoples' hearts." In front of him, Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other and nodded, though Ash didn't see since he still had his eyes shut. He clenched them tighter. "Then this black goo, like quicksand or something, sucked me, Dawn, and Brock up. The last thing I remember seeing was Pikachu and Maru looking at me in horror, and my hand reaching for them. Then it was all black...Wait!" He whipped his head up, eyes flying open and spraying a few tears. "I remember, I had this weird nightare that I was falling down, and I remember all the special pokémon I've met!" He shook his head and looked down. "But then I woke up, and was in that shack I guess you guys put me in. That's all I remember." He looked up and at Sora. "What the heck were those things that separated me from Pikachu and my friends?" he demanded to know.

Sora nodded, crossing his arms. "Those things are called Heartless," he explained. "What probably happened afterwards is Maru and Pikachu got sucked up, too, either by that goo you were talking about-that I've never heard of or experienced-or by a big, black ball in the sky that probably appeared a while later." He looked serious until now, but he softened his face. "Don't worry, if they can defend themselves until the ball sucks them up, they'll be fine," he assured Ash. "That's what happened to me."

Ash gasped. "What?" he shouted. "But...isn't this your home?" he asked, arms out to indicate his surroundings.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, it is," he confirmed, then chuckled. "It's a very long story."

"But now," Riku continued, "you're alone, without your friends. They might even be in a different world entirely. Where, though, I don't know." He shook his head, looking away. "They might have been taken by the Heartless, or they're being held somewhere, or they're safe and sound someplace. Just hope it isn't the first thing."

Ash looked horrified. "What do the Heartless do?" he asked. "Do they really steal peoples' hearts?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah," he answered, "and when that happens, the person who lost their heart becomes a Heartless, too. If their heart was strong when they lost it, their bodies are left behind as empty shells, called Nobodies. They're between the light and the dark, in the twilight, and hated by those from both sides, I think." He shrugged. "I forgot the fine details on those guys for now, sorry."

Kairi piped up, "But not all Nobodies are bad." Ash turned to her. "Some actually turn out to be nice. For instance, both me and Sora lost our hearts once." Ash gawked, and Kairi laughed a little. "Don't worry, we're not Heartless," she assured him, "although there can be human-like Heartless, just like there can be human-like Nobodies. But when both me and Sora lost our hearts, we generated Nobodies, who both ended up being good."

Ash nodded, then crossed his arms and dropped his head as he thought. "So...the Heartless steal peoples' hearts, which makes them become Heartless, and sometimes they make Nobodies," he reviewed. He looked up. "Is that it?" he asked.

The three shook their heads. "Oh, no," Sora replied, laughing mirthlessly. "Turns out that worlds themselves have hearts, too," he said. He smiled sympathetically at Ash's surprised face. "Yeah, surprised me, too, when I found out," he said. "How can the place you live have its own heart? Well, it does, and they're pretty big. The Heartless are attracted to big hearts, and the bigger, the better. They probably went to your world for its heart. Though..." He crossed his arms and bowed his own head, thinking. "That sounded pretty catastrophic, there, and Heartless generally don't take a world as soon as they find it. It usually takes some time before things get bad. They must have found the heart of your world really fast..."

Ash frowned. "What happens when the heart of a world is taken?" he asked. "What if there are still people on there?"

"They get taken away," Riku answered. "Not nessisarilly their hearts, but themselves. There's a place known as Traverse Town that people who've lost their worlds live. Although, last we checked, another place known as Radient Garden is becoming a place where people end up." He smiled. "If your friends are there, they're safe, don't worry."

Ash gulped. "I hope so," he mumbled. He sighed. "So my world's probably gone, now, huh?" he asked. He got three solemn nods in answer. He whimpered. "Great, now I don't even have a home to find!" he griped, and slammed his fist on the tree behind him.

Kairi smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, someone might be able to restore it," she told him. "Sora restored our world."

Ash opened his eyes and looked at Sora. "HOW?" he demanded. He clenched his fists and brought them up a little. "Maybe I can do the same thing and bring back my world! Would that bring back the people who were lost?" he asked.

Sora blinked, then laughed. "Wo-h-how, man, that's just kinda funny! That is, unless you're very special," he said, tilting his head a bit. "But saving your world would bring back anyone lost, I think. And sorry that I laughed at you," he added, looking sheepish, glancing at Kairi, who gave him a disapproving pout. "It's just that there aren't many people who can use the weapon that's needed to save worlds."

"Weapon?" Ash repeated, looking up in interest a little.

Sora smiled, nodded to his friends, and in unison, all three whipped their hands out. In flashes of light, three keys appeared in them. Kairi's was flower-themed, Riku's was sort of like a bat's wing and really darkness-themed, and Sora's was extraordinarilly plain, being silver, yellow handguarded, and bearing a blue band near the hilt. Ash had sheilded his face from the glare, but when he broght his arm down, he gasped in amazement and surprise.

"WWOOOOOAAAAHHH!" he cried. "What the-?"

Sora grinned and spun his around, then put it on his shoulder. "THESE are the kind of weapon I'm talking about," he said. "They're called Keyblades, for pretty obvious reasons." He held his out so Ash could see better. The wannabe-pokémon master looked in awe at it. "They're given only to special people, who are in fact chosen by the weapons," Sora explained. He smiled. "When my world was being attacked, I got mine. I dunno how Riku got his, although I do know that he was the one who was supposed to get the Keyblade." He sniggered. "Too bad he let himself get lured in by the darkness," he commented, giving a sideways glance to his friend.

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, well, I was just being a big, fat fool then," he dismissed without sounding mad at all. "I got this Keyblade on my own journey after Sora saved our world. And I gave Kairi hers."

Kairi grinned sheepishly. "Truth be told, I don't know much about swordfighting," she confessed. "I just got this because I wanted to help out as much as I could."

Ash smiled. "It's always good to want to help people out, even if you know you wouldn't be that much of a help," he said, making his signiture determined face as he held up his fist. "At least you were able to help, so be proud of that."

Kairi grinned. "I am!" she said.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Ash? I thought you were all down and stuff a second ago, and now you're giving advice like you were happy again."

Ash sighed, his smile fading, and dropped his fist a little. "Well, I miss my friends a lot," he said, and paused. He then lifted his head and fist again, though, his face back on. "But, as much as I want to, I can't do anything if I just stand here and cry. The best thing I can do now is to keep my chin up and never quit!" He nodded at his words. "I've learned that through my journey: No matter what happens, never stop trying. Even if you know you're going to lose, it's better to give it your all than to let yourself lose. Because, well, you never know..." He chuckled and thumbed his nose. "You just might win!"

Sora grinned and nodded. "You're right, Ash," he agreed. "And I hope that you can keep going with that spirit, because it's no good if you give in to hopelessness. Just keep goin'." He smiled and looked at the waves for a second. "Anyway, Ash," he continued, getting back on topic, "these Keyblades are able to do many things, and basically end up giving you a chance to save your world. It's just that, well, only certain people can get one, and only one special one that they can get. Even if you were able to hold one, I couldn't just give you mine, for instance," he said, and held his Keyblade out. "Take it and watch what happens."

Ash came over and, a look of interest on his face, did as he was told. He held it up and looked at it for a second, until the weapon disappeared in a flash of light. "What?" he gasped.

The Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand, and he laughed. "See? Two people have already tried to take it from me," he said, "and both times, it came back to me. Only once, when Riku took it, did it go away for good, and I was left with a toy sword." He dismissed his familiar weapon, the other two taking cue and copying him. "And by the way, the Heartless are immune to both toy weapons and normal fighting, with your hands and feet, unless the person knows what they're doing," he added. "That's probably why Maru, holding that cane, didn't do anything. He wasn't holding a real weapon. If he even held a knife, it would've worked. I mean, like, a pocketknife or something, not an eating knife!" he laughed. "Oh, wow, that's a funny thought-using utensils as weapons! I can see it now, waves of Heartless getting beaten by a guy weilding an enormous spoon or something!"

Ash blinked, then got the image and laughed, too. "THAT would be funny!"

Riku just shook his head into his hand, a smile on his face, and Kairi laughed along with. He sighed as the laughter faded. "Look, let's get to the point," he said, and put a hand to his hip. "Ash, you're in a different world, with no friends in sight or way to get back. Unless we can get a Gummi ship here or something, chances are you're stuck here. So, sorry, but you're going to have to cope for a while. That alright?"

Ash looked up at Riku, frowned a little at the reminder that he was alone, then nodded. "Yeah, I will," he replied. "I hope. I'm just so worried about my friends..." He sighed. "But I'll just have to keep holding on to the thought that they may be okay." He smiled again. "Am I going to stay here on the islands, or is there another place you want me to stay?" he asked, tilting his head. "I mean, I HAVE a sleeping bag, and there's a bed in that shack." His stomach gurgled just then, and he sweatdropped and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't see any food in there, though," he confessed.

Sora and co. looked at each other, smiling, then at Ash again. "Well, don't worry, we've got food here," said the brown-haired Keyblader. "And we'll work out where you'll be staying for the night later. For now, you can go to the shack and hang out."

Ash nodded and smiled. "Alright," he said. "Now, ah..." He blushed a little. "Can I have some of that food?"

Sora and the others laughed.

-'-,-'-

After having some lunch, Ash wandered around, exploring the island. He soon circumnavigated it, and found himself back at the beach that the others 'played' at. He found Sora and Riku there, fighting with wooden swords. Kairi sat on the wall and watched. Ash joined her. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she greeted back. She turned to the fight again. "Those two sure keep their skills sharp," she commented.

Ash watched, raising an eyebrow at the swordfighting. "Wow, they're good," he said.

Kairi smirked. "Well, they ARE both chosen by the Keyblade," she reminded him. "I'm just able to use it, but they're able to use it WELL." She looked back at them. "It's been a couple months since we got back from our big adventure, but they're still swinging swords around, despite having spent what must have felt like a lifetime fighting off Heartless and Nobodies. Mostly Heartless." She sighed and leaned back a little, looking at the sky. "You know," she said, "if I wasn't the damsal in distress both times through, I bet I'd've had a bunch of fun on that adventure. You really don't know how exciting it is to visit other worlds..." She leaned forwards again. "But those two do, especially Sora. He got to meet lots of new friends, do lots of cool things, and even got to fly a spaceship!"

"A spaceship?" Ash repeated. His eyebrows shot up.

Kairi nodded, smiling and looking at Ash. "Yeah, it's called the Gummi ship," she said, "and it's able to go between worlds. It's better than the way the Heartless go. They're supposed to use these weird tunnels of darkness that connect each world together. They're said to be very dangerous, but the Heartless can go through like it's nothing." She sighed and shook her head. "But, hey, that's them. Sora got to go through using an awesome spaceship, his two partners that he picked up on his journey helping out. It sounds so exciting...!" She laughed. "But then, well, I should be careful what I wish for, since I may just end up getting captured again if I wish to go on my own journey."

Ash smiled. "I'm already on my own journey," he said. "It's a journey to become a pokémon master, the greatest trainer ever!" He gave his determined expression again. "In my world, there are creatures known as Pokémon, which are basically animals that are able to do cool stuff, like my best friend, Pikachu. It can squeeze his cheeks, which have special pouches in them, and send out bolts of electricity!" He smiled proudly. "It and I have been through thick and thin together. At first, it didn't really like me, but after I defended it from a bunch of spearow, well, we've been buddies ever since!" He grinned and reflexitively looked to his side-and saw nothing. His smile fell, and he sighed. "I really miss it..."

Kairi put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her smile. "Don't worry," she said. "I promise, you'll see Pikachu again. It's bound to happen."

Ash smiled and nodded. "You're right," he said. He sighed and looked back at Sora and Riku fighting. They watched for a while, then Ash began to feel interested. He looked at them, brain working. "You know," he said, "trainers are people who capture and train wild pokémon to fight other trainers' pokémon. It's pretty hard, but fun, too. I like it. For me, the key is finding the true strength within each pokémon and commanding them in battle in a way that best suits them. For instance, I used Pikachu a lot for its speed." He pointed to the friends/rivals below. "But something like swordfighting...That's different. You have to know how to basically command yourself, and you know that you're going to get hurt. I always try to keep my pokémon from getting hurt, of course, but it's still not quite the same as myself getting hurt." He put his hand back and propped his chin up as he watched. "But still, after watching Maru fight in that tournament with all the other different fighters, and watching these two, I've begun to think that this actually looks kinda fun. I've done all sorts of things, but always with my pokémon. Alone, though..."

Kairi smirked thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. "I swear, this island makes boys just wanna beat each other up," she joked. "Go ahead and give it a shot. We just do it for fun, here-well, they do. I prefer to sit back and watch. But if you want to try your hand at it, don't be scared!" She chuckled and smiled fully. "Those guys would be glad to have someone else to fight if you've got a knack for it enough!"

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, besides, I enjoy doing new things!" he said. He hopped down, still wearing his backpack.

Kairi noticed this. "Uh, Ash? Don't you want to go without your backpack? It could get in the way..." She raised an eyebrow as he just ran to the two boys.

Ash turned. "It's barely got anything in it, I'll be alright!" he assured her, then turned back. Sora and Riku, noticing him going towards them, stopped fighting. "Hey, guys!" Ash called, waving a hand. "Could I try?" he asked.

Sora and Riku raised their eyebrows, then smirked a little cockilly. "You sure?" Riku asked.

"We do things a little rough," Sora warned the trainer.

Ash stopped, getting to them. "Yeah, but I like a challange," he argued, smiling. "Just give me a wooden sword and I'll see how I do!"

Sora and Riku looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at each other, then shrugged. "Alright," Sora said, "you asked for it." He looked at Riku again. "You or me?"

Riku tossed his sword to Ash, who fumbled and didn't quite catch it. He rolled his eyes. "You," he replied. He went to stand at the wall.

Ash picked up the weapon and held it, looking at Sora. "Just you and me, huh?" he asked.

Sora grinned. "Looks like," he replied. He got into position. "Get ready!"

Ash nodded and held his sword ready, in both hands, and up, sort of like a baseball bat. "Ready!" he said.

"Then let's GO!" Sora cried, and ran forward, sword pointing at Ash.

Ash gulped and swung as Sora got nearer. He missed, and then was brutally comboed by the Keyblader. He blinked a second later, seeing blue sky. "Ow," he said, sounding surprised. "Okay, that wasn't unexpected, but still..." He got up and back into pose. Sora kindly waited for him to get ready, and even stood still while Ash charged and swung again.

Sora nimbly dodged it and whacked him from behind. Ash fell face-first into the sand, then got up again and charged again. "Remember to keep your legs bent a bit," Sora told him. "And look where you're going to swing!"

Ash growled, "I know!" as he missed again, and this time, he turned to face Sora before he got hit. He tried raising his sword up to block, but was too slow. "Ow! That actually hurts for a toy," he muttered.

Riku scoffed. "If you think this hurts, then you're not meant for real fighting," he called over to the trainer. "Be a man and bear it!"

Ash growled at him, but got hit during his distraction. "Hey! I wasn't looking!" he protested.

Sora looked at him with a serious-but still well-meant-look. "Never let yourself get distracted," he warned him, "because in a fight, your opponent will use every opportunity to defeat you."

Ash gritted his teeth and was able to block a hit. "I've just gotta get focused," he muttered. "Just gotta imagine that I'm in place of one of my pokémon in a battle, but with swords..." He was struck down again, but he paused before getting up. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and set his mind to being focused. Ready, Ash turned and faced Sora. He had stopped holding his sword like a baseball bat, since he didn't want to waste the prewind if he had to block. Instead, he held it with both hands, to his front, point forward. He placed his legs a bit apart and crouched a little. After a moment, he charged forward.

Sora grinned and went forward, too. The two met in a clash. He took his sword away quickly and tried another strike. Ash barely blocked in time. He struck again, and was also blocked. Then, he tried a stab. Ash was a little slow, and got hit. "OOF!" he went, holding his stomach, then growled and tried attacking again. The pain caused him to become reckless again, as well as slower from its effect.

After a few more minutes of getting beat up, Ash said to stop, panting and feeling sore all over. "Okay, I give up," he breathed, leaning on his sword a little. "Uncle...Owch..."

Sora sighed and walked over. "Well, sorry, Ash, but you asked for it," he told him. "Maybe swordfighting just isn't your thing."

Ash gave a weak grin up at him. "I just haven't gotten in as much practice as you have, that's all," he told him. "I'm used to being able to see what my opponent is doing entirely, not just so close up." He gave his sword to him and stood up. "I guess I'm going to have to learn how to analyze a situation when it's ME on the field and not the trainer's box." He smiled and went to sit by Kairi again.

Kairi looked him up and down, concerned. "Wow, I didn't think Sora would do that to you," she said, a little shocked. "I thought he'd be nice enough to teach you. Maybe he's just in one of those moods..."

Ash, bruised and beaten all over, just gave a little smile. "That's alright," he said. "I'm fine. At least he didn't try any really dirty tricks."

"Ash!"

Ash looked down and saw Sora smiling at him. "What?"

Sora grinned. "If you want, I can go easy on you tomorrow so that you get used to swordfighting," he offered.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked.

Sora smiled and nodded. "Yeah, if you really want to," he said. "I'm sorry I went so rough, but I had a feeling that you wanted to know how to swordfight because you wanted a Keyblade."

Ash sweatdropped, making the "uh-oh" face, then sighed in defeat. He smiled and lifted his hands. "You got me. True, I did want to do this because it looked fun, but I also really wanted to get a Keyblade," he confessed. He looked a little sad as he said, "I still want to find my friends, and you said that Keyblades guide you to adventures. I just thought maybe I'd be able to go on one, too, and find my friends."

Sora sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "Even if you could use a Keyblade, and knew how to fight, it's not that easy," he said. "I had to fight hoards of Heartless and seal worlds up before their hearts were stolen." He smiled. "But if you really want to learn swordfighting..."

Ash nodded. "Yeah! I want to get better!" he said.

Sora nodded, smiling. "Then you can start training tomorrow, or whenever you feel up to it," he said. "I say tomorrow since, well..." He sweatdropped and grinned sheepishly. "I really did a number on you!" He laughed.

Ash couldn't help but start to laugh, too. "Yeah, I feel like one big bruise!" he agreed. "But I'll be better tomorrow, I swear."

Sora nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds good. Besides, it's actually going to be sunset soon, so that means it's almost time for us to go."

Ash looked up and saw the sun starting to sink low on the horizon. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. Then he looked confused and asked, "Wait, you guys live away from here?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, of course," she said. "We go to school and everything, on the mainland."

"Except now, it's summer, so we hang out here," Riku said. "It's pretty fun."

Ash smiled and looked around. "I'm used to lots of forest," he said, "though I've been on my own adventure in the tropics." He then remembered something and gasped. "Hey, you know what?" he asked. "I actually had this one really huge one when I was there. In fact, not to brag or anything, but..." He shrugged and blushed. "I...kinda saved the world."

Riku, Sora, and Kairi gave him skeptical looks. "Oh, really?" asked Riku. "How? What was happening?"

Ash recounted his story about when he was on Shamuti Island and met Lugia. "...And do you know why I went through all that trouble?" he asked.

"Through the good of your heart?" Kairi guessed.

Ash shook his head. "Well, wait, that too," he gave, putting a finger up. "But the reason I did all that was because, on this one ancient pedestal, it said that 'the world would turn to Ash.'" He gave a little laugh. "Turns out I was destined to save the world! Funny, huh?" He didn't sound at all cocky that he did save the world. He was, thankfully, humble about the whole thing.

Sora raised his eyebrows. "Really..." He shrugged. "Well, that's a nice story, but unless you ARE bragging, why bring it up?"

Ash motioned to the three around. "You guys hold Keyblades, and you said that only certain people can hold them," he reviewed. He smiled and put his hand to his chest. "Maybe, because I'm supposed to be some 'chosen one,' I'm able to use a Keyblade, too!" he suggested, sounding a bit hopeful.

Riku shrugged. "It all matters on what's your heart like," he said. "Not if you're destined to save the world. And besides, if it IS destiny, then it's a completely different one. And in my opinion, if you've already got one destiny, that's pretty much it. There's tons more heroic things that people can do, and they should be given a chance." He looked at Sora, then crossed his arms and added, "Well, okay, Sora's saved lots of worlds from the Heartless, but he's a Keyblader. He's supposed to do that. That's an exception, then."

Ash smirked. "Then that would mean that I'm still up for it," he said. "Because if I get a Keyblade, which lets people do more than one big thing, that would include me saving my world from destruction."

Riku raised his eyebrows, then grumbled, "Oh, nevermind!" while the other three laughed.

"But really, Ash," Sora said, "I dunno if that counts towards getting a Keyblade. I mean, I've met someone who's related to gods in his world, and he didn't get a Keyblade." He shrugged. "It's really luck, I guess. And if you're a good person inside."

Ash smiled. "I try to be nice," he said. "I'm not completely worried about that part." He shrugged, though. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

The others nodded, and they all decided to do their own things while the sun was still in the sky. Eventually, though, sunset came, and Ash said goodbye to everyone else. He then went to where he was shown the food was and got something to eat for dinner. Sure, it was just a couple sandwiches, but it was something. He then went and turned in for the night. All through that day, although he did his best to not think about it too much, he felt sadness gnawing at his insides, along with worry. Lonliness, however, was soon fading.

Thank you for patiently waiting for new chapters in my normal Puzzle of Truth fanfic, and for withstanding the fact that I've got Ash, of all people, as a main character if you've read this chapter all the way down here. I can't believe it, myself, but for some reason, especially after watching the Lucario movie, I suddenly gained a respect for everyone's least favorite main character in a long-running series. And I thought, "Hey, he might be up for this kinda thing; he's never afraid to try new things." Besides, sometimes, you just wanna read about a nice guy hero, and I'm always perpetually worried I'm deviating too far from Mewtwo's personality in his fiction. But with Ash, I've known his character so long, it's gonna be a lot easier. Not only that, I realized that it's gonna be hell to try and sic every single member of the bad guys onto Maru, what with how far I am already in his story-he should've fought one already, and you know that. However, there are some plot things I want Ash to do that Maru wouldn't fit in doing quite as well. But anyway, I've got a complete whimp as a character, so deal with it. Don't worry, I'm going to try and make Ash at least a LITTLE cooler. Losing your world is a pretty dark experience, so it's understandable that even the lightest of us would darken a bit after that.

Finally, to end this subnote, I've just got to say: I have written this BEFORE I've completely seen the ending of KHII. Laura and I, as of writing this, are still working on clearing Jiminy's fargin' journal. We've got a bit to go, but last thing we did together was nab Ultima Weapon, so Sephy, when we get to him, shouldn't be that hard. (It's the cups I'm worried about-my bro Kalas said he couldn't beat it last I asked, which was, I admit, a year or so ago, and he was doing it on Proud-we're on Normal and we don't want to start all the way back at the beginning just to get the final ending. All in all, working to get the ending at this point would be easier in Normal than by restarting in Proud.) So, I deeply appologize if I have any major plot discordancies-especially since I try writing fics as if they might-MIGHT-be in actual games.

Anyway, that's all from me! Please enjoy my other chapters!

-FerreTrip


	2. 01: The Wave Guided Hero: Lucario!

The next day came, and Ash awoke to find a tray of food bearing some food on it for breakfast was by his bed. He happily ate it, then found a bathroom inside the shack and used it. There was a sink with running water, but nothing like a shower or bathtub. Frowning that he'd have to smell like an ape, Ash shrugged, got his clothes on(with a fresh change of underwear), and went outside to start the new day.

He found Sora and the others in the same spot. Kairi looked up and waved. "Morning, Ash!" she called.

"Good morning!" he called back. "Thanks whoever brought me breakfast! It was great!"

Kairi smiled. "That would be me, and no problem!" she answered. Ash came over and stretched. "Sora wants to see you," she said.

"Hm?" He turned and yelped as another wooden sword was tossed at him. He managed to catch it this time.

"Ready to start training?" Sora asked, smiling. He had his own toy sword ready.

Ash raised his eyebrows, then grinned and nodded. "Ready!" he said. He and Sora left to a little cove in the shade. There, he and Sora began.

*****RECEIVED Wooden Sword*****

The day pretty much went on like this for all of it. They had breaks, lunch, and Ash spent some time having fun exploring the island. But he spent a fair amount training. Sad fact of the matter was, though, that although he DID get a lot better, he still wasn't very good. He kept at it, though, since it helped to keep his mind off of Pikachu and his other friends. He kept his backpack on him, since he'd decided that, so that he didn't lose it, he should put his badges in there. He never went anywhere without all his badges, so he kept the bag. He didn't mind it that much, either, since he didn't have that much stuff in there. He began developing a style that factored in the pack. He took it off during breaks, though, and had it off when he ate.

Ash also decided to take a few shots at fighting the other people on the island, except Riku, who he knew wouldn't be very fun. He lost against all of them, unsurprisingly, but didn't let it dampen his spirits. "I've just got to try harder, that's all!" he told himself.

At last, the sun dipped and turned the sky red. Ash sighed and lay underneath the tree holding the treehouse while he watched. Nearby, Sora, Riku, and Kairi decided to watch from the beach.

Since they were out of earshot, Sora asked, "What if he DOES get a Keyblade?"

Riku and Kairi shrugged. "If he does, he does," Riku replied. "He wouldn't get anywhere without a Gummi ship."

Sora frowned, worried. "Sorry to say, but he sucks at swordsmanship," he said. "If he was given the chance to try and find his friends, he'd be defeated pretty quickly. After working with him all day, I've seen he's got humongus amounts of energy and determination, but he's not that strong, nor is he very good at swordfighting. He's probably better off telling his pokémon friends what to do instead of fighting on his own."

Kairi held up a finger. "Remember, Sora, you weren't all that much better than he was when you first got the Keyblade," she reminded him. "You had a lot more talent, sure, but you weren't that skilled. You just got really good from fighting Heartless."

Sora sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know, but..." He trailed off, looking at the waves absently.

For a few moments, the only sound heard was the waves lapping up against the shore gently. Then, a soft sound of something scraping against the sand was heard. Kairi, closest to the direction of the noise, barely heard it. She turned her head and squinted. "What the...?" She leaned over, trying to see around the cliff that acted as a corner of the island, then gasped. "Well, I'll be-" She stood up.

"What?" Sora looked up at her. "What is-huh?" He had leaned over and seen what she did. He stood up, too.

Riku joined the party and stood up as well. "Where's the fire?" he joked, then looked. "Oh."

Sora walked forwards a little, then stopped and gasped a little as what he saw began to move.

A figure got up shakilly onto its hands and knees, it appeared. It slowly, arms shaking, got into the position, then, slowly, brought a leg up under it and began to try and stand up. It tried, but fell back to the sand, barely catching itself with an arm. After an effort, it eventually stood up, very shaky and forced. It slowly stepped one foot forward, then another. A very, very weak voice was heard:

''...sh...ease...re you...''

The figure slipped and fell down again. Again, it got up, even slower.

Sora and friends looked at each other, then Sora slowly walked forwards. He then gasped. "Woah!" he shouted in surprise.

Ash, who'd been dozing for a moment, snapped his head up at this. He saw the three standing and looking at something. "Huh?" He got up and began to walk towards them.

The figure, meanwhile, was up again. It brought its head up and looked around. ''...eel...ere...lp...''

Sora held his head. "It's...it's talking to me in my head!" he realized. Then he saw the figure collapse. "Woah, hey!" he cried, and ran over to it. He bent down and picked up the figure gently. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The figure blearilly opened an eye and looked up at Sora. ''...A...ere's...'' It let out a grunt, fighting to keep its eye open. It was breathing hard.

Sora frowned, puzzled. "I can't understand you," he said. "You look hurt. Please, just rest or something!"

Surprisingly, the figure brought up an arm and pushed off Sora's helping hand. ''...o...eed...find...m...'' The voice sounded croaky and faint.

Ash got over to Riku and Kairi. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Someone just washed up on shore," Kairi said. She pointed.

"Hm?" Ash leaned to look, then froze. "...What the..." He ran forward, then, seeing the figure closer, exlcaimed, "NO WAY!"

Sora looked up and saw Ash racing towards him. "Do you recognize this thing?" he asked.

Ash skidded to a halt and took the figure in his arms. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?" he asked with such deep worry it impressed the Keyblader.

Weakly, the figure opened its eyes and looked up. It gasped. ''...A...'' it weakly sent. ''I...nd...ou...Ash...'' It finally fainted.

Ash gaped in shock and amazement. "I can't believe it," he breathed. "I thought...I thought..."

Kairi and Riku joined Sora, and the latter knelt down and asked, "Is this one of your friends, Ash? Or...one of those pokémon?"

Ash gulped and nodded. "Both," he replied softly, and looked at Sora. "One I saw sacrifice itself before my very eyes."

The figure was that of a dog-like creature, with blue and black fur and a blue, slightly jagged tail. It had a cream-colored front and a spike on its chest and on the backs of its front paws. On its head, which resembled the head of a jackal, were four black, dreadlock-like appendages. It was a pokémon Ash knew very well.

-'-,-'-

With a groan, the doglike pokémon opened his eyes. He was in a wooden structure somewhere. ''Wh...Where...?'' it asked. Suddenly, he gasped and sat up quickly, shouting a name just like the last inhabitant of the bed he lay on. ''ASH!''

"I'm right here," said a soft voice to its side. The pokémon looked and let out an enormous sigh of relief. Ash Ketchum had opted to sleep on the floor instead of the bed that night. He smiled and turned to a tray of food. "Kairi brought us some food, if you're hungry," he said.

The pokémon blinked for a second, then shook his head. ''This is too much,'' he muttered. ''First we get attacked by those black things, then...'' He growled and shook his head again, squeezing his eyes tight. ''...At least I was fortunate enough to find you,'' he said, opening them again and giving a small smile to Ash.

Ash smiled back. "You wouldn't BELIEVE how surprised I was when I saw you, Lucario," he told him. "Do you feel better, by the way? You looked pretty weak."

Lucario nodded, then threw off the covers and turned to sit on the bed. ''Yes,'' he told him, ''I feel quite re-energized, if just a bit hungry.'' He looked down and saw some juicy-looking berries on the tray. ''Is this for me?'' he asked, double-checking to make sure he didn't miss what Ash said earlier.

Ash nodded. "Yep!" he answered, then reached and got a bowl of cereal for himself, milk already poured. "I told Kairi, who brought us the food, that you liked eating berries...that's right, right?" he asked, frowning a little. "That's all I saw you eat when we were on our way to the Tree of Beginning."

Lucario nodded. ''Yes, I eat berries,'' he confirmed. He got off the bed and sat cross-legged on the floor across from Ash and took a berry. ''...These are quite good,'' he commented after chewing one.

Ash grinned. "Kairi must have picked the best ones, or got some from her house." He began to eat his breakfast. "Uhm...Lucario?" he asked after swallowing some cereal.

Lucario looked up. ''Yes?''

Ash lowered his bowl for a second, sorry look on his face. "I know it's rude to ask you right after you've woken up and while you're eating, but..." He looked a little determined. "Why are you here? I thought you...I thought you died. You and Sir Aaron became bits of light and floated up, then disappeared."

Lucario sighed, putting down the berry he was about to eat. ''I was going to tell you anyway, so don't feel you're being rude,'' he told the human. ''I'm really not quite sure about what happened, myself, but...''

'-,-'

Lucario and Sir Aaron were walking together in the misty world they now inhabited. It was like the world they'd left in the time they were more familiar with. There was even a castle there! And they weren't alone, either. All of the people they knew and loved were there, including the royal family that Aaron and Lucario had worked so hard to defend. They lived their afterlives in peace, and the two's friendship became even greater.

One 'day,' Lucario and Sir Aaron were out on a walk, enjoying their afterlife's scenery. They were just returning to the castle's entrance when, suddenly, both stopped dead(no pun intended).

"Do you sense it?" asked Sir Aaron, clutching his staff.

''I do,'' Lucario replied. He closed his eyes and let the 'dreads' fly up as he activated his aura vision. ''A feeling of foreboding...''

"...and aura bending around creatures, instead of the creatures exuding it," Sir Aaron finished. He readied his staff and turned around. "They're coming!" he shouted. "Get ready!"

Lucario didn't need to be told twice. He turned and held up his paws, ready for battle. A moment later, out of thin air, an army of black creatures appeared. Lucario, his eyes opened because aura vision would hinder him in a fight against aura-less beings, gasped. ''What are those things?'' he asked.

Aaron grimaced. "Whatever they are, they're not good," he answered. "They look familiar...but how?..."

The enemies began to attack, and so the two began to fight for their lives. Lucario used Aura Sphere, as did Aaron, and his other moves. Aaron swung his staff to beat the beasts away. The two fought valiantly, but they ended up becoming surrounded. Some people had gathered on top of the walls of the castle to watch in horror. They hadn't died with weapons, so they had none to assist the two brave warriors.

Eventually, Aaron and Lucario were back-to-back, grimacing at their situation. Suddenly, Aaron let out a short gasp. "I remember!" he cried. "All those years ago...I remember things similar to these creatures attacking..."

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ''I recall it, as well, master!'' He squinted at the black things in the mist. ''They were different, though, since they were men who somehow transformed into hideous monsters. These appeared out of nowhere.''

Aaron nodded. "But they were silent and dark," he said, "and without aura. As well, they vanished when defeated." He whacked one away.

Lucario blasted a quartet that attempted to jump him. ''Why are they here?'' he asked. ''Aren't we supposed to be safe here?''

Aaron grimaced and twirled his staff around, beating off a bunch at once and destroying a few. "I thought so, too," he agreed. "It feels like we've just been here a month, and already, we must fight enemies! This isn't how I imagined the afterlife to be!"

"That's because this isn't the afterlife."

''"Huh?"'' Lucario and Aaron glanced up at the wall of the castle. Standing there was the princess.

She looked very sorry and ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sir Aaron, Lucario," she said, putting a hand to her breast, "but it's just that I didn't want to dampen your spirits after finally reuniting. This world...it's not exactly the afterlife." She spread her arms out. Behind and around her, villagers and other people gasped and murmured in shock.

Lucario gaped. ''But did we not die?'' he wondered.

The princess (sorry, blanking on her name) looked away. "Yes, we all did," she answered, "but our spirits are stranded here in this alternate version of the world we left. I and the other castle-dwelling people have lived lives without need for food or water, but I have known that we live not lives of those who have truly passed on. For this, I appologize."

Aaron grunted as he fended off another shadowy beast. "Pardon my rudeness, Your Highness," he barked, "but could you get to the point and tell us what's going on?"

The princess nodded and turned back to the fighters. "We are in a sort of kind purgatory. We are to remain here untill one of us agrees to see to it that our true world, the one we left behind, is safe from the claws of those creatures." She sighed and looked down at the two. "I was given this warning a long time ago, when we first came here, by what appeared to be the spirit of a Mew. It told me that, should our world be taken by any means, this world shall be invaded by 'those without hearts.'"

Aaron and Lucario looked at her, then at the beings around. ''So these creatures are truly heartless?'' Lucario asked. He grappled with one and threw it, sending it back at the others and destroying it and the ones it struck.

The princess nodded. "I suppose so," she answered. "The insubstantial Mew said that they will try and capture us, for this world is not invulnrable, like the true afterlife. While the world we lived in remains unharmed, so does this world. However, I suppose something terrible must have just occured to the world we left behind. I have a horrible feeling that we are going to face an afterlife worse than the underworld if those things attack..." She frowned in a very worried way.

Lucario grunted as he blocked a hit. ''How can we fix this?'' he asked.

"By finding a way to escape this world and accomplishing what the Mew said, which I don't completely understand," she replied, putting a hand to her forehead as she shook it. "It said something about a key..."

Aaron shouted as he was struck down. Everyone cried his name, including Lucario, but the Fighting/Steel type had to defend himself from the beasts. Aaron, down on the ground, rolled on his back and blocked another attack with his staff. "A key? ...Yes! I remember! When those men transformed into those beasts, I remember a giant key appearing in my hand...it seemed like a dream..." He shook his head. "It faded as soon as I'd used it to defeat the beasts. But that's the only key that I know of that is obviously special..." He tried to get up, but another beast struck him back down, causing him to yell again.

Lucario roared and used his aura powers to summon up aura and send it out as a shockwave, blowing back the entire ring of monsters temporarilly. He ran to Aaron and helped him up. ''Aaron! You're going to be fine!'' he said.

Aaron smiled and coughed. "I guess I must," he said. He stood and held his staff at the ready. He looked around, at the princess, at the creatures, and then at Lucario. He nodded. "Lucario, I have an idea of what has to be done," he said.

''What, master?'' he asked. The pokémon got ready to fight again, too.

Aaron smiled. "I saw what went on when you entered the Tree of Beginning with that boy," he said. "His aura astounded me in its strength and similarity to mine." He looked back at the creatures. "Seeing as I was allowed that key to defeat those men, I have a feeling that boy will also be able to use one. If that's what's needed, then seek him out. The one whose aura is like mine."

Lucario gasped. ''What?'' he asked. ''And leave you here alone? I can't do that, master! Not after we've just been reunited!''

Aaron gave a smile out of Lucario's vision. "I know, my friend," he said softly, "but...my aura is weak from remaining in my suspended state for those years, and, although I have powerful aura, it is not as powerful as it could be. Please understand, Lucario."

Lucario dropped his jaw in horror, tears pricking in his eyes. ''But...my friend...''

Aaron swung out with his staff at another foe. "Lucario, I'm sorry, but that's how it has to be," he grunted. "Your power is great, and your courage is boundless. Now please, go. You are the best one to go, since you need not carry a weapon that might become lost in the transit between this world and wherever you need to go."

Lucario growled and shook his head. ''NO! I'm staying here! I never wish to leave you again!'' he cried.

Aaron turned and gave him a harsh glare. "Then I order you to go, Lucario!" he shouted. "I will stay and defend the palace with all my might, while you find a way to set free our souls and allow us to move on in peace!" He bashed a beast coming up behind him without even looking.

Lucario stood, blinking and gaping a little, then squeezed his eyes shut and slowly bowed. ''Yes, Sir Aaron,'' he said. ''I understand, as hard as it is for me. But then, you must know, this means I MUST return,'' he added, looking up and smiling.

Aaron smiled back. "Thank you, my friend," he said softly. "Now go. Find a way out of this world. Find the one whose aura is like mine."

Lucario rose, nodding, and, with one last look, turned and, throwing his head up, shouted, ''Mew Spirit! I accept the task to put our souls to rest! Allow me to escape this world so that I may carry it out!''

The psychic voice echoed around, but nothing came except the creatures. Lucario sweatdropped. ''Well, I THOUGHT it would work,'' he said, looking down and around again.

Before him was a translucent Mew, nothing more.

Lucario gasped, then looked left and right. ''Sir Aaron?'' he called. Nothing. He looked back at the Mew and grimaced. ''Well?''

The Mew nodded. ''You have chosen to embark on an enormous quest, hero of waves,'' it said in a calm, whispery voice.

Lucario nodded. ''Yes. May I leave now?''

The Mew began to glow bright white. ''Know that your body will become weakened from the journey, and that you must build up its power again. Your own powers of aura will be weakened, as well. It will be like you have again begun your training with Sir Aaron. This is unavoidable, because the old world has disappeared, and you must be sent across to a different plane. The power needed is what drains you. I doubt you will be half as powerful as you are now. Do you still accept?''

Lucario widened his eyes at this, but nodded resolutely. ''Yes, I do. I must.''

''Then so shall it begin,'' the Mew said, and all was white.

-'-,-'-

Lucario awoke in the middle of an ocean, slumped over a piece of driftwood. He blinked as he looked around the clear air across the deep, blue water. 'Am I...alive again?' he wondered. He looked around him in the water. 'I wonder if I should start getting moving...but where?' He thought to close his eyes and use his aura vision. He was amazed how much work it took him now to use it, but he got it and spread out his awareness in all directions, seeking out the unique aura his master gave off. Finally, after a few minutes of searching, which pushed his now-weakened abilities to the limit, he found him. ''Ash!'' he gasped. He oriented himself in the direction of the aura and, focusing his on his target(which relieved a great deal of the stress put onto him from using aura), began swimming towards it, holding onto the board.

He determinedly swam forwards, never stopping. He sometimes switched arms, but never really stopped. He kept himself going by reminding himself of Aaron's order. His body began protesting, but he ignored it and kept going. By the time sunset arrived, he'd nearly gotten there and his body was almost completely deplete of energy. He felt like he was going to die again, but he had to get to Ash. Besides, there weren't any other islands around that he could land on and rest on and get food from.

When he got to the island, he had resorted to letting the tide wash him in. He had given up on aura-seeing when he had sight of the island. So, when he finally felt his body scrape up onto the shore, he had no idea where Ash was. And he felt so weak, he couldn't try even if he wanted to.

'-,-'

The rest of Lucario's story was what Sora had reported seeing to Ash. Ash sat, long finished with his breakfast, and gaped in awe at Lucario. "Wow," was all he could say.

Lucario sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. ''That about sums it up,'' he agreed. ''So, now you see why I am here. Pretty fantastic story, but true, nevertheless.''

Ash crossed his arms and bowed his head, thinking. "So, if what you say is true," he said slowly, face beginning to brighten with hope, "I should be able to hold a Keyblade, after all!" He gasped and grinned. "That means I can find my friends!...And our world," he added, feeling rude. "Sorry, I've been separated from my friends." He quickly summarized his own story for Lucario.

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ''So...our world is...gone?'' he asked. He got a nod in response, and sank his head a bit. ''I thought as much,'' he sighed. He shook his head and stood up. ''Well, Ash, should we get going and see what we can do?''

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I need to do some things here first, but then I'll be out," he answered, rising as well. "You can wait outside. I think Sora and the others are already out there." He had an idea. "Hey, you say that you're not as strong anymore, right?" he asked.

''Much to my dismay.''

Ash smiled. "Then find and talk to Sora. He's the brown-haired guy with the big yellow shoes. He might be busy fighting with a white-haired guy who's taller than him. But ask if he'll fight against you, and you can start getting your skills back up. I'll come back out in a bit."

Lucario nodded. ''Alright.'' He turned and went out the door.

Ash went and finished up dressing and such, then went and found him. Indeed, Lucario was sparring against Sora. He was giving Sora a bit of a rough time, actually, since he was very good at fighting naturally.

"Woah!" Sora cried, blocking another hit.

Lucario kept up his punches, kicks, and occasional whips of his tail. However, he got parried again and hit a couple times. He regained his balance and began dodging and blocking. Each side would get in a few hits, then go back to dodging and blocking combos.

Ash came over. "Woah, those two look like they're having fun," he commented, smiling.

Riku chuckled. "I'm wishing I could've fought with him," he said.

Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just I thought you'd be a bit rough on it," he appologized.

Riku held up one hand in response.

Finally, Lucario and Sora decided to stop. Both were left panting and smiling at the good fight. "You're pretty dang good," Sora complimented as he sat on the wall to rest.

''Thank you,'' Lucario replied, sitting against the wall on the sand. ''You're very gifted, yourself.''

Ash smiled. "Seems you two had a good time," he said. He laughed. "I guess I'm going to have to wait for a bit before I can train with Sora!"

Lucario raised his eyebrows and looked at Ash. ''You are training?'' he asked. ''In what, swordfighting?''

Ash nodded. "Yup! Sora's helping me, and I spent all day yesterday training with him. I've gotten a bit better, I'd say," he added, smirking a little.

Sora sweatdropped. "Aaahh...don't get too cocky, kid," he warned his student. He laughed at the look he got. "Sorry, but you've still got a ways to go. Nothing's easy in life!"

Ash nodded, smiling. "I know that, all too well," he replied. "It took me an age before I got good at pokémon training."

Kairi, sitting there and listening, suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Ash," she said, looking at him. "Lucario's a pokémon, right?"

''"Yes," I am.'' Lucario looked up and back as he saw Kairi sitting on the wall above him.

Kairi giggled and gave a playful look to the two. "Why not, sometime today, show us what it is you do?"

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked. He looked at Lucario, then sweatdropped. "I don't think Lucario'd like me telling it what to do...would you?"

Lucario shook his head. ''I wouldn't mind if it was you, since you are a friend, and I trust you,'' he replied. He tilted his head. ''Although, what would we use as a practice opponent? There are no other pokémon here that we can battle.''

Ash's face fell as he remembered that. He'd felt hopeful when Lucario said it'd be okay to use him in a show battle. "Oh, yeah," he muttered. "I forgot about that..."

"I can fight him," Riku offered, turning and smiling thoughtfully. "I'm no pokémon, but I can take hits and fight." He grinned. "It'd be interesting, too."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Uuuhhmm...it'd be weird, but...Lucario?" he checked.

Lucario raised an eyebrow, too, but nodded. ''It's as good as we're going to get,'' he reasoned.

Ash nodded. "Alright, but I'm going to have to talk with Lucario and find out what attacks it remembers," he said.

At this, Kairi gave an annoyed "Humph!" and crossed her arms. "Ash!" she said, scoldingly.

Ash sweatdropped. "What? I have to, otherwise I might order an attack it doesn't know!" he defended himself.

Kairi groaned. "No, the 'it' stuff," she said. "You've heard Lucario talking to us! He's obviously a he!" She looked at him. "Heck let's ask him. What gender are you, Lucario?" she asked.

Lucario sweatdropped a little at the question. ''Pardon? Er...Sorry, just an unexpected question...I am indeed male,'' he answered. ''But I understand why Ash calls me an 'it,' since that is what an animal is called, and pokémon ARE animals. Albiet, ones that can launch Hyper Beams and Flamethrowers, but animals regardless,'' he added, smirking a little at his little joke. ''I care not what I'm called, so long as it's not meant as an insult, and as long as it's not 'she.'''

Ash still sweatdropped as he looked at Kairi. "Okay, Okay, I'll call Lucario a he," he relented. Kairi smiled and thanked him, nice and happy again, and Ash let out a flustered sigh.

After a while, Ash and Sora decided to go and train. Lucario, curious to see Ash fight, decided to accompany them. The three guys went to the cove again and got down to business. Ash took out the toy sword he carried with him now, and so did Sora.

"Okay, Ash, let's begin," Sora said. "Come on!"

Ash nodded, then charged. He swung and got blocked. He tried swinging more and more, but he ended up getting blocked all the time. Then, when it was his turn to get swung at, he got five times out of the 6 swings. He and Sora fought against each other for a while more until the two got into a standoff, Ash panting and holding his wooden sword limply, Sora just breathing a little heavier. The trainer had a few bruises while Sora had none, getting hit only a few times.

Lucario raised an eyebrow. ''Ash,'' he said.

"What?" he asked, still looking at Sora in case he charge at him again while he was speaking to someone else.

''Sorry to say, but you're a very bad swordsman,'' Lucario admitted, causing Ash to anger-vein. ''However, I remember witnessing Sir Aaron weild a sword quite nearly as well as his staff, which he used with unparalleled skill. Since your aura and his are so similar, I wouldn't be surprised if you had as much talent as he if you were able to unlock it.''

Ash made his 'this is new' face. "What do you mean?" he asked.

''What I mean is that you're bad now, but you might be able to be a lot better,'' Lucario summarized. ''Just believe that you can do it, and you'll do better.''

Ash nodded. "Alright, I'll try," he said, and turned back to Sora. "I'm ready!" he called.

"Okay, then try again!" Sora said, and came at him.

A few minutes later, Ash and Sora were taking a standing break, getting back their breath again. Ash had landed a couple more hits than last time, but he still hadn't done it quite as well yet. Lucario hummed in thought. ''I have an idea,'' he said.

Ash glanced at him. "What?" he asked.

''You remember when you used Aaron's gloves to use your aura?''

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Yeah..."

Lucario put a paw to his chest. ''My idea uses the same principle used when you brought out your aura. Try tapping into your aura like you did before, but instead of forcing it out, let it fill your physical body. Let the power residing inside of you assist you.'' He crossed his arms again to watch.

Ash considered it. "My aura..." He stood and put a hand to his chest. "Worth a shot," he mumbled, and closed his eyes. "Alright, just let it fill my body..." He reached inside of him, remembering what he did when he tried to use his aura to help Lucario out. He inwardly gasped as he felt the energy enter his chest. He didn't try and force it out, but instead let it flow. He felt an indescribable feeling. It energized him and shot his eyes wide open. He felt his mind clear of distracting thoughts. "I think I've got it," he said confidently.

Lucario, watching in aura-vision, smiled. ''That's it. Now, just try to keep it flowing while you fight. Don't focus too much on keeping it up; you should know it when you start to lose your grip keeping the gate to your aura open. Since you got a lot of aura out on your first try using Aaron's gloves, I'd say you've got a knack for it. So, good luck.''

Ash nodded, looking at Sora. He kept his eyes on him like never before. It was as if he was using the move Lock-On. "Ready!" he shouted.

Sora nodded, then came at him again. He swung, but Ash, with amazing nibleness, ducked and slid underneath it, stood up, spun, and whacked Sora on the back. Sora grunted, then turned and swung again. Ash instinctively blocked it, then blocked another one. He swung out as well, but got blocked, too. He was thrown off and was stabbed at, but Ash, feeling the aura flow through his body, dodged it by weaving his body to the side, bending his body like a bow. He then took the opportunity to slash with his sword.

Sora got struck and stunned for a slight moment for the first time in Ash's career as a swordsman.

Immediately, Ash comboed him. First, a vertical slash down, then a stab forwards, and a finisher in the form of a wind up to the left, crouching a little, then a quick slightly diagonal horizontal swing to the right, "thrown" by his left hand while the right swung out. The combo launched Sora back a bit, and Ash got back to his stance, breathing slightly.

Sora laughed as he got up. "Wow, that hurt!" he said, rubbing his shoulder. "Looks like Lucario's idea worked! But can you keep it up?" he asked, and went at him again.

*****Ash: LEARNED "Focus" Support Ability (0 AP)*****

The training ensued for a fairly long time, about 20 minutes of constant fighting. Ash got knocked down a couple times, but he got up again in a flash. Sora got knocked down just as much. By the end, Ash had even begun learning how to defend against aerial attackers while Sora tried his midair comboes on him. When they had finished for the time being, both were panting hard, laughing and smiling.

Ash, flumped down against the wall of the cove, turned to Lucario and said, "Thank you so much, Lucario...I couldn't've done so well...without your idea..."

Lucario smiled. ''No problem. I think it is good you learn to use your aura while you have such a powerful one. And, by the way,'' he added, ''what you did was really what anyone can do, but just faster. You entered a state where your focus is entirely on whatever you need to do, and your body and mind are shut out from doing all except.''

Ash tilted his head, but Sora said, "You mean that he just put himself into the zone."

Lucario made a confused face and turned to Sora. '''The zone?' Is that what people call it?'' he asked.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, didn't you know?" he asked.

The pokémon shook his head. ''No. It must have come up while I was trapped in Sir Aaron's staff...which happened in the time where swords were used for real battle, not for play fights.''

Sora widened his eyes. "Woah...You mean with knights and stuff?" he asked. Lucario nodded, and Sora gaped. "WOAH! You're really old!" he blurted out, then meeped and clasped his mouth. "Er, I mean..." Ash and Lucario were both laughing, though, so it was fine.

Ash looked to Lucario after that. "So, what I'm doing isn't cheating or something?" he asked.

Lucario turned and shook his head. ''It's merely something to help you along,'' he replied. ''And it's not dangerous or tiring to use, either. It should help you out until you become used to swordfighting and are able to fight better in general. Just don't depend on it, because the less aura you have, the less of an effect it will grant you. You might need to use your aura to fight in the future, if you ever have to fight on your own for real.''

Ash nodded. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, Lucario." He breathed for a little bit while he rested. After a while, Lucario, who had begun to fidget, decided to go and start his own solo practice. He practiced his fighting moves, punching and kicking, and tried some aerial moves as well. After that, he tried to use some actual moves.

''Oh, great,'' he muttered after trying a few and ending up with a big load of nothing, ''I've forgotten a great deal of moves. Wait, have I...'' He got his paws into position and focused his aura. Slowly, but surely, a sphere began to gather up and form. He grimaced. ''I can still use it, but not as well,'' he muttered. He aimed at a wall and threw it. It soared and struck, guided by the ambient waves, and struck the wall. It jarred a few rocks loose, but not much. Lucario sighed, hanging his arms limp. ''Oh, well.''

Ash frowned sympathetically. "Lucario...I'm sorry," he said.

Lucario turned and nodded. ''It is nothing,'' he replied. ''I can deal with it. I will just have to get stronger somehow.''

Ash crossed his arms and thought. "If only there were more pokémon around to train against," he muttered. "Just going up against Sora and Riku, as well as Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka, is fine, for now, but..." He sighed. "Oh, well," he said, too.

After some more self-training, Ash and Lucario discovered that he still knew Metal Claw, Tail Whip, Low Kick, Screech, and, to some extent, Aura Sphere. When the pokémon used Screech, Ash couldn't help but feel sorry when Sora squaked and covered his ears. Lucario's Screech was kind of like a loud, high dog's howl.

After Lucario finished, Ash and Sora began sparring again. Ash tapped into his aura again and got into the zone. He now had to work on defending against aerial opponents. Sora could jump amazingly high for a human being, and Ash was dumbfounded as to how he could. He tried jumping himself, but couldn't jump all that high. Lucario, being a pokémon, could jump as high as Sora could, but Ash? No, no way! He decided not to ask, though, and instead was content just learning and practicing.

A time later, Ash, Sora, and Lucario decided to take a lunch break. Ash ate with gusto from the training, and everyone laughed. Even Lucario gave a chuckle. The pokémon ate completely natural food, like berries and such.

Afterwards, Riku came over to the Pokémon worlders. "What about that battle?" he asked, giving a smirk to Lucario.

Ash looked at the aura-user and smiled his Ash smile. "You up for it?" he asked.

Lucario nodded. ''I am ready when you are.''

Ash nodded and clenched his fist, holding it up. "Then let's go, Riku!" he said determinedly.

Riku chuckled. "I won't hold back," he warned.

Lucario couldn't help but smirk. ''I wasn't expecting you to,'' he replied.

Lucario's cool, as well as being the second rare talking pokémon with an extensive backstory, like Mewtwo. As in a BADASS pokémon-not like Meowth. But regardless, he's here. I'd make him the main character if it wasn't for-whoops, almost spoiled! And sorry if the story of why he's back to life is a little _deus ex machina_, but it's the best I've got.


	3. 01: Use the Force, Luc

Ash stood on one end of the beach, Lucario in front of him. At the other end stood Riku, holding his sword at his side. Sora, whom Ash had told about the job, acted as referee. The brown-haired Keyblader looked left and right at Riku and Ash. "This unofficial battle between Ash, using Lucario, and Riku, using...himself, will now get under way," he announced. He held a sword in each hand. Riku got his sword up into stance. "Ready? Aaaaaand..." He shot both arms up, holding out the two swords like flags. "BEGIN!"

Immediately, Riku charged forward with amazing speed. Ash nodded. "Lucario! Get ready to dodge!" he called.

Lucario nodded, crouching. Riku came forward and then let out his first attack. Instantly, the pokémon dodged the swing, sidestepping. Riku looked over.

"Metal Claw!" Ash ordered as soon as Lucario had dodged, knowing how fast Riku was.

Lucario's paws glowed, then he let out a scratching swipe. Riku raised his sword and blocked it, though, and quickly counter-attacked. Lucario grunted as he got hit.

Ash, expecting quick attacks and used to not hearing what the enemy will do, cried, "Screech, now!" when Lucario's attack reached its hit-or-miss point.

Lucario, as an effect, was able to let out his attack, which caused Riku to grunt and stop further attacks while he bore it. However, as much as he tried, he soon had to clasp his hands over his ears. When Ash saw this, he ordered Lucario to use Tail Whip. Although weak, Lucario was able to land the quick attack across Riku's stomach.

Riku grunted. "This ain't as easy as I thought it'd be," he commented, "what with hearing what attacks are being used on me..." He held his sword ready again. "Alrighty, let's get down to business." He ran and feinted before lashing out. Lucario was hit, but it appeared it didn't do much.

Ash grinned. 'That must have been like Feint Attack, which is a Dark-type move and therefore didn't do much against Lucario!' "Quick, Low Kick!"

Lucario complied, foot lashing out in the fast, but weak, attack. It was a bit straight, though, and was easilly dodged.

"Behind you!"

He jumped out of the way of the swinging attack, soaring high. However, Ash remembered that Riku, too, was a good jumper. As Lucario came back down, Riku launched himself upwards and unleashed a three-hit air combo on the pokémon, slamming him back down to Earth. Lucario grunted as he hit the sand, then rolled and got up again.

Ash frowned. "Sorry, Lucario, I forgot he uses air attacks, too," he appologized.

''No worries,'' Lucario returned.

Ash nodded and pointed. "Alright, let's bounce back by charging him!" he commanded.

Lucario did as he was told. Riku chuckled and readied himself. When Lucario approached, the Keyblader decided which way to dodge.

"Low Kick!"

Lucario did so. He, sharp-eyed pup, saw which way Riku sidestepped. As he did, Lucario launched a sweeping kick with extra power from the move in the direction the human dodged. Riku grunted in surprise as he was sweeped. He fell to the ground.

"Ngh!" He rolled backwards and got up. "Heh...Sneaky," he said. 'Why did that hurt a little more than I thought it would?'

Ash grinned. "When I'm going against you, I've gotta be, sometimes," he said. "Now, start hitting him using normal fighting moves!" he commanded.

Lucario nodded and began free-forming. He and Riku engaged for a while, Ash watching intently, waiting for the right time. Then, it came when Lucario managed to parry a move and give a mighty uppercut to the white-haired Keyblader. "Metal Claw!" Lucario hurriedly launched the attack. It struck the stunned Riku, causing him to give a little shout of pain and slide back.

Riku grinned as he halted. "Not bad," he complimented. He stood straight and held his hand out to his side. "Let's see how you handle this!" Darkness began to accumulate in his hand.

Ash gasped in surprise, as did the others. "What the-?" He thought furiously about what attack that resembled, and could only think of Shadow Ball. He frowned and nodded. "Lucario! Try and defend!" he cried.

Lucario braced himself.

"Riku! Why are you going to use that?" Sora asked.

Riku smirked over his shoulder. "I said I wouldn't go easy on him," he reminded, then finished charging the attack. "Alright! Eat my Dark Firaga!" he cried, and threw the ball of darkness.

Lucario grunted as it struck him, exploding into a burst of black fire. He slid back so far, he ended up in the water a little. He panted when he let his guard down. ''Ow.''

Ash gritted his teeth. ''Alright, so it looks like it's part Fire, part Dark, meaning that Lucario's combination of Steel and Fighting types cancel out any move effectiveness. It did normal damage, and it did a lot even so. I'm going to have to try and dodge it!' He nodded and watched Riku. He was advancing, charging another Dark Firaga. "He knows I'm going to try and tell him to avoid it, so he's gonna keep on Lucario so he can't evade it!" he muttered, then shouted, "Lucario! Run towards him and try using Low Kick!"

Lucario did so, but Riku was smart enough to jump the sweep.

"AGAIN!"

Lucario, being ordered mid-spin, understood and spun around again as Riku fell. Riku couldn't land safely and was hit, knocked down again. His Dark Firaga was disrupted. Ash pumped his arm in victory, his plan having worked.

Lucario awaited further commands while Riku rose. He thought himself. 'If I'm not mistaken, my Low Kick seems to be doing something to him,' he mused. 'I wonder if he's sort of like a pokémon himself...'

Riku smirked. "Alright, enough of this," he said, and summoned darkness around his toy sword. "Let's see how you like me now!" He began to attack viciously.

Ash ordered Lucario to block it, then dodge it as best he could and use Metal Claw. It failed, though, and Lucario was hit. When he did, it looked like it hurt him so much, it stunned him. Then, he got hit by a combo...well, almost. At the finishing move, he reached up and grabbed Riku's darkness-covered weapon. Riku raised his eyebrows. After surprising his opponent, Lucario quickly released the sword and slashed with Metal Claw. He hit again.

Riku was getting either mad or just excited. "Pretty brave, grabbing a blade of darkness," he commented.

Ash raised an eyebrow. 'I knew it! His special attacks are Dark-based! That means...' "Lucario! Try, um, Focus Punch!"

Lucario raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. He focused intensly, hoping the move worked. Then, to his surprise, his fist began to glow.

However, Riku was ready. He charged and slashed. Lucario was able, though, to dodge just in time. The pokémon unleashed the move, and connected with a retreating arm. Riku grunted and held his arm breifly before getting back to it.

Ash grinned. 'Yeah, that looked like it really hurt! He's got to be like a Dark-type, weak against Fighting-type moves!' "Lucario! Tail Whip!" he ordered. "Then jump away!"

Lucario tried Tail Whip, missed, but jumped back when the next attack came.

"Now start charging up your Aura Sphere!"

He nodded and began, midair. He still charged it when he landed. It was still slow to charge, but Ash had gotten him far enough away that Riku couldn't get him in time. Riku was charging his own Dark Firaga, which charged just a tiddly faster than Aura Sphere.

They both launched at the same time.

Ash waited until the right moment, then said, "DODGE!"

Lucario jumped to the side just as the ball of darkness approached. It curved to him a little, but ended up missing and hitting the ground.

Riku, meanwhile, tried dodging the other one. He was surprised when not only did it home in on him, it also went straight through his sword, which he'd raised as a last-second defense. "AAUGH!" he cried, getting nailed in the face by the Fighting move. He went to the ground, where he stayed a second before getting up, laughing. "Okay, that felt like it hurt a lot more than it looked like it should," he laughed. "What's the deal?"

Ash grinned. "Each pokémon and move has its own type," he explained. "One type of attack does more damage to another type of pokémon. For instance, Fire type attacks do more against Grass type pokémon; it's super effective!" He held up a fist. "Fighting type moves are super effective against pokémon whose type..." He pointed with his fist hand at Riku. "...is Dark!"

Riku blinked, then laughed. "Great, just when you think you're human!" he joked. "I suppose that's why some of my attacks didn't do as well against Lucario as I thought?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep!" he replied. "You'll have to figure out the types on your own, since us trainers have to," he told Riku. "So, we gonna keep going, or what?"

Riku smirked, then put his sword on his shoulder. "I think that's enough fun for today," he said. "Unless you'll let me try one more move...?"

Ash looked at Lucario. He nodded. "Sure! Lucario, get ready!"

Lucario nodded, then braced himself.

Riku grinned viciously. "Oooh, bad idea," he said, and everything went dark. Only Lucario and Riku were visible.

From the darkness, Sora gasped. "RIKU! NOT DARK AURA!" he protested.

He was too late, though, and Riku had disappeared.

"Dark Aura?" repeated Ash.

Sora grimaced. "Something that's a really big pain in the...well, all over!" he explained.

Lucario looked around him, sensing something. He then saw a burst to his right and Riku searing towards him, blade out. He couldn't avoid the attack quite well and got hit. While he recovered from the hit, he got slammed again and again and again from nearly every direction as Riku mercilessly executed his most powerful move. Lucario grunted in pain each time, and tried to analyze where he was coming from. Unfortunately, the darkness surrounding the boy caused him to have no aura while the attack took place, despite the name of the attack. Finally, Riku finished by appearing in the center and unleashing a ring of dark flames, which hit Lucario, too.

After the attack ended, Lucario fell to the sand, gasping for breath. ''That...is a powerful...attack,'' he complimented. He then struggled, trying to get up. ''A little...too powerful...ooof...'' He collapsed, spiraly-eyed.

Sora held up his left sword and cried, "Lucario is unable to battle! Riku-by a really cheap shot-wins!"

Riku gave him an eyebrow raise. "Hey, he said I could try it! I didn't even know I could use it without entering my Dark Mode..." He shrugged, then knelt down to the pokémon.

Lucario groaned in a second, then looked up at his smiling face. He took the offered hand and stood up.

"Good fight," Riku said.

Lucario nodded. ''Good fight.''

Ash, amazed look on his face, walked over to Riku. "You...Wow. That's one scary attack," he said. "Glad I'm never going to have to deal with that in real life!"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "If you do end up nabbing a Keyblade, you'd better be ready for it," he warned, crossing his arms. "Heartless do all sorts of moves like that."

Ash looked a little surprised, but then sighed and nodded. "I guess you're right," he said. Then he shivered. "Man, I hope I don't have to fight YOU anytime soon, though!"

Riku raised his other eyebrow, switching them. "Really? I wanted to check and see if Sora hasn't been making you soft," he said, and Ash meeped, causing everyone to laugh.

-'-,-'-

The remainder of the day was spent playing with the other kids, who all were eager to try Ash out. They had fun with him, and he had the opposite with them-despite his newfound ability to focus instantly, he still either had a lot of trouble or he just outright lost. He DID have a time with Wakka, though, since he knew how to fight him from the previous experience he had with him. He even beat back the ball he had thrown to him.

Lucario, meanwhile, decided to practice his meditation, attempting to work on rehoning his skills with seeing waves(and, yes, I'm going to be switching off "aura" and "waves" whenever I want throughout this fanfiction. I appologize if this annoys you). He sat on a rock by the waves (of the ocean) for a couple hours, motionless.

Finally, sunset arrived, and the others had to leave. Ash and Lucario bade farewell, then retired after getting something from the fridge there.

-'-,-'-

Ash was falling. He was falling through the sky, soaring past the memories of his past encounters with legends. However, there was one encounter missing...He suddenly hit water, floating down until he landed gently on a black surface. He took one step, then gasped as thousands of doves flew off, revealing a circular, stained-glass platform. Upon it lay an image of Celebi in a forest.

He looked around, seeing just that mysteriously-lit platform and himself. "What happened?" he asked nobody. "Where am I?"

_So little time...so much to do..._

Ash gasped as he heard a voice.

_...Take your time..._

A trio of pedestals appeared before him, each bearing an item.

_...For your greatest journey has yet to begin._

The voice was gone. Ash stood, looking at the items on the pedestals, then wondered if he should take one of them. He walked over to the first item he saw, a sword. "Wow..." he mumbled, feeling the weight of it. He swung it around some. "Pretty cool! Wherever I am, I know I won't be in danger anymore!" He smiled and put it in his belt.

As soon as that happened, the pedestals all suddenly fell through the glass, which caused it to break in a chain reaction. Screaming, Ash fell down from Celebi...onto Jirachi, set against a feild of stars, a few shooting. He blinked in confusion as he landed. "Huh?"

_You, who have chosen the weapon of the warrior, must now prove thyself worthy in combat_, the voice said. It was mysterious, and it felt more like a thought, but not like telepathy. Ash gasped as, suddenly, silvery-white creatures with unzipped heads appeared around him._ You are in danger. What do you do?_

Ash reflexitively reached for his pokémon, but remembered he had none. Instead, he drew his sword and held it at stance. "I face it head-on, that's what!" he answered in his determined-Ash voice. Before rushing off, he remembered the trick Lucario taught him and calmed his mind and body, entering the zone. With a more ordered mind, he analyzed the situation from his own standpoint. Three of the enemies surrounded him. He had to fight them off, he knew, but it wouldn't be hard, he knew as well.

He chose the one in front of him and charged forth, sword raised a little. "No offense, but I think you're in my way!" he said as he approached the creature. He swung out as he reached it and struck. The strike stunned the creature, and so Ash continued with his combo by stabbing and then finishing.

He cried as he was hit from behind by another one's attack. He turned and saw, puzzledly, another one hanging upside down in the air in front of him, as if floating along after someone grabbed its head and used it as the axis around which the hand turned its entire body. Ash growled and jumped and swung. He struck, but had to fall again. "How can Sora and Riku stay in the air so much longer than I can?" he asked aloud. "It's impossible!"

He remembered that he was surrounded, and turned just in time to see a strange arm swing at him. "WOAH!" he yelped as he ducked quickly. He grabbed his hat as he did. From his crouch, he sprang forward, trusting the sword through the middle of the creature. He gasped as it went right through, then gasped again after he saw nothing from withdrawing the blade. "Wait, don't these things have blood?" he asked. "There's...there's..."

Then it hit him. He looked at the three and gasped, "...nothing..." He shook his head, clearing it again. "There's too many for me to fight off one at a time!" he mumbled. "I have to get to a corner where I can fend them off with the same swings of my sword!" He looked and saw no corners on the platform, since it was absolutely circular. He gritted his teeth. "Darn! I have to get far away, though, so they have to come almost one at a time. I'll have to hit and run!" He ran straight to the other side, slashing away one of the white things as he did.

He got there and found one of them flying at him as he turned. He instinctively blocked with his blade the attack it tried, then countered with a few slashes. The next two came nearly one after the other. He gave a mighty horizontal slash at them, using his finishing move on them instead of the first one. "These things...They...They feel like they're hollow inside when I hit them!" Ash mused aloud. "They must be those Nobodies Sora, Riku, and Kairi told me about! Oh, I wish I had a Keyblade...Wait..." A thought occured to him that puzzled him for a moment, making him stand still for a second. "Why are they called KeyBLADES when they're so blunt-looking?" he wondered aloud.

He got his answer from a double strike from behind, causing him to slide and roll on the ground. He slammed into an invisible wall guarding the edge of the ring. "Owowowowowowow..." he grumbled, getting up into a kneel, holding his sword as if he would use it to stand up. "At least my backpack helped me against the attacks a little..." He rose, indeed using the weapon to help, and got ready for more. They came at him again, and he began running around the edge of the ring. He slashed at any of them that came, sometimes able to get a combo in, before running away again. The adrenaline pumping through his system helped keep him from becoming tired.

Finally, he destroyed one, then another. Finally able to go one-on-one, Ash stopped and squared off against the final one. He dodged as best as he could, but had a hard time breaking its defenses. Suddenly, at one point, he felt something in the flow of aura gently coursing through his veins and body. It was as if it was tensing, ready to pounce. Ash looked at the Nobody and realized what his aura told him to do. "Right!" He let the aura guide his body as he skidded a half circle around the Nobody, going so fast he blurred. Stopping behind it, he let loose a three hit combo, knocking it back. He grinned as it fell down for a second. "Alright! That's it!" he said, pumping his arm. "If I feel my aura do that again, I'll react to it and see what I should do! I'll maybe be able to defeat this thing easier, that way," he reasoned. He smiled as the Nobody got up. "Lucario, thank you so much..."

He continued on, using Reversal whenever he found the defenses too bad in front. Finally, after some time, he defeated the Nobody. Panting, Ash looked around, making sure nothing else was coming, then jumped and thrust his sword into the air. "YAHOO! I did it!" he cried in joy. As he fell, though, so did the floor. He yelped as he fell down, waving his arms and nearly letting go of his sword. As he fell, his hat came loose, and he barely caught it and shoved it back on his head. He landed on his feet, strangely feeling no shock from the landing. He stood and looked around. This time, it was of a Mew, floating in front of a great tree in the mountains. Ash knew where that was. "The Tree of Beginning!"

_You have chosen your path..._Ash looked around, trying to find the voice, again futilely._ You have proven yourself in battle...Now prove yourself in puzzle._

Suddenly, the floor began shifting, breaking into sliding rings. These rings slid around in many which ways, the center remaining a solid circle. A pillar appeared on each ring after they stopped, in different places. Ash looked around, "sheathing" his sword. He frowned worriedly. "But I'm not good with puzzles," he whined. He sighed and looked around at the pillars. "I guess I have to do something with those pillars to turn the rings back so that they are all in line again." He walked over to the nearest one and looked around it. Solid white stone, like the pedestals before. He shrugged, then put his weight on it. He pushed and pushed, but felt no movement. Aggrivated, he smacked it with his sword. Nothing.

He growled, then looked down. He blushed when the thought occured that he might've been standing on the ring he was trying to move, thus getting no real push at all. The ring was narrow enough that he didn't have to spread his legs uncomfortably to push. He yelped in joy as the ring moved. It took one push, but it turned a distance until it stopped with a dull thunking sound. Ash also noticed another ring moving as it did, going the opposite direction. Ash frowned, but he went to the other rings and pushed them around. He found there were six rings each, but he could only move three. He noticed the ones with white pillars were the ones he could move, but the black pillars he couldn't. Each white-pillared one moved a black-pillared one. Each one moved a set distance each push. After Ash operated the puzzle for a while, he looked at it and discovered that there was a way to make the puzzle fit back together again!

Excited, he tried it. He pushed one ring this way, then another that, and the third that again. He whooped when the rings stopped and the beautiful floor was all back together again. "YES! I did it! I solved the world's biggest puzzle!" he cried in joy, jumping and pumping his arm up. Then he sat and rested against a pillar, panting. "My whole body's tired, now, though..."

He had no time to rest, though, since the pillars suddenly all fell over and broke the stained glass. Ash complained how his hard work had been for nothing as he fell, this time smart enough to hold onto his hat.

When he landed again, he was on another Mew. This time, however, it was floating and looking serious, which is saying something for a Mew. It had a pink glow around it. Ash gasped and looked at it. "This is from-!"

_Your final task is now at hand..._

The Mew's eyes began to shine, and Ash yelped and jumped back a little.

_...Now face your fiercest enemy..._

The Mew stopped glowing, but something behind Ash caused him to slowly turn around from the shadow it cast. He gasped when he saw an immense Nobody. It appeared to be a giant knight in armor, white and silver all over. Its shoulders were like two enormous triangles, and a blue scarf appeared to be wrapped aruond its neck. It appeared to have a zipper running up its front.

_...This is your fate, should you choose it. Are you ready for the difficulties that come with the item you desire?_

Ash gave no answer, and instinctively knew that he could only give it by drawing his sword, calming his mind by tapping his Aura, and backing up a little from the behemoth in front of him.

Suddenly, Ash was flung up into the air, causing him to yelp. He was then stopped around middle-height to the Nobody in front of him. His arms and legs began to splay outwards. He grunted and tugged at his limbs, but he couldn't move them. The Nobody took a step forward.

Suddenly, Ash felt his aura pulse. He growled and, with a roar, unleashed the aura within at the sites of his bonds. The aura flashed blue and bright at his wrists and ankles, and he began to fall. However, with determination filling his heart, Ash swung forth and sent a whip of his aura at the beast. "GO!" It latched onto it and he swung around. He went underneath its arm and then around onto its shoulder. The aura snapped back into his body. "Wow," he muttered in surprise at what he'd done.

Then, it tried to whack at him. Ash felt his aura pulse again, and so he reacted to the attack. "Nice try!" He leaped higher than he'd ever done before, the aura helping him. He jumped over and landed on the hand that had been slapped down where he was, then ran along it. It lifted the arm, and Ash felt the floor below fall away. The Nobody, agitated, thrust its arm upwards, flinging the poor Trainer(who was clutching onto his hat for dear life).

As he hung there, Ash felt his aura pulse a third time. He nodded and reacted. "Here..." He reached his arm back, winding up to throw his sword. Then, although he saw nothing below him at first, he swung down his weapon. "...GOES!" A second after he did, the Nobody suddenly appeared before him, rushing up at frightening speed. It sailed right into Ash's sword, which collided with its cross-like symbol-bearing face, abruptly stopping it. In fact, it swatted the Nobody down to the stained glass floor. Ash fell and landed on the creature's front, surprised he was safe. He reached and caught his sword, which had fallen slower than he had, without even looking. "Not bad," he laughed, trying to ignore his astonishment at his amazing abilities he suddenly obtained.

Finally, Ash was able to land a few hits on the Nobody's head on his own. He jumped down and landed a few three-hit comboes before the giant being rose again. It dashed and hunched over the battlefeild, then sent a storm of lightning down. At the same time, a pair of the smaller Nobodies from before appeared and tried to reach Ash.

However, Ash, now getting used to it, felt his aura pulse again. He had been runing around, trying to avoid the lightning, and had jumped to avoid an attack from one of the smaller Nobodies. He felt the Reversal Reaction, but did something completely different. He suddenly swam through the air around a bolt of lightning, heading forward to the face of the beast before him. He did this a few times in succession, then reached the face. When he got there, Ash shouted and swung at the foe before him. "Sorry, bub, but if there's anyone who knows how to deal with electric attacks, it's me!" he shouted while making his way to the head of the Nobody.

After he swung first, a diagonal-down-left, he noticed that, oddly, he hung in the air a second afterwards. Using this time, he continued, going from his spin into another attack, this time a strike downwards. This somehow suspended him in the air a second more, so Ash decided to, with a happy/determined face, end with a strong diagonal-down-right slash that spun him so fast that he ended up spinning around again horizontally and getting another slash in.

He then dropped down, holding onto his hat, as the Nobody shook its head and leaned back. Ash noticed the smaller Nobodies were now gone. He didn't have time to ponder on this, for he had, again, been grabbed by an unknown force and strung up like a puppet. He gritted his teeth and growled, "Not again!"

However, he felt his aura pulse again, so he broke free and swung down and onto the shoulder opposite the one he went on last time. He then, although his back was facing the direction of the attack, backflipped and avoided the slap down. He went right through the fingers of the Nobody. He landed and ran along the arm again, trying to reach the other side before-"WWOOAAAAAHH!"-he was flung skyward again. He waited this time after his aura initially pulsed, then sent the sword down. 'I don't want to be too early,' he knew, 'because the more time that my sword goes, the weaker the spin will get.' He was a bit too late, though, and although the beast was struck, it still hurtled a little for him. Remembering one of his more recently-learned tactics from his pokémon training, Ash spun to the side as the Nobody approached. He dodged it, even without using his aura to assist him.

He landed again, grabbing his sword like before, though he was on the floor this time. Amazingly, he still wasn't hurt. He comboed the knightlike Nobody again, but it rose up once more. "Darnit!" Ash growled. "Come on!"

This time, he just jumped from the shoulders of one of the summoned Nobodies and leaped into the Reaction sequence. However, he was caught off-guard when a more solid-looking strand that appeared to be a lightning bolt soared at him, and his aura didn't pulse. He was struck, which let him know Yep, it's solid, all right, and the trainer fell down. He also got whacked by one of the Nobodies as he fell, so he wasn't in a good mood when he stood up.

"Argh...Owch..." He panted. He felt bruises and pain from the attacks. "I'm only human...I can't take much more of this..." He shook his head and made his determined face. "But I've made it this far, and there's no way I'm going to let anything stop me from beating this thing now!" he vowed. Filled with energy from his assertion, Ash stood and rushed forward. He again stomped on one of the Nobodies' heads and went into his Reaction sequence. This time, however, whenever a solid bolt came to him, he struck it away and THEN could use Reversal. He alternated between attacking and Reversal, until he got to the face of the beast.

He felt his aura pulse up and stay up, so Ash decided to attack a two-hit combo, Reversal, attack once, Reversal, and finally a three-hit air combo. This allowed him to swim to the side in the air before the Nobody and stay afloat so he could land more moves. He used his three-hit when he got tired of the feeling his aura gave him, which he really wasn't completely used to. (I meant that he was used to expecting the feeling before.)

The Nobody staggered back a little as Ash fell, and he wondered if this was it. He let out an exasperated groan as he was strung up again. This time, when he broke free, he swung right-forward, going through what looked like the space between the ribs and hips on a skeleton that the Nobody was formed to be. He swung back and up, landing on top of the head of the gigantic enemy. This time, both hands slapped down, trying to swat the human fly, which is basically what Ash did when he dove off the front of the head. Before he could swing, though, the Nobody caught him by surprise and, with a part of its scarf, grabbed Ash and tossed him up.

Ash knew what to do. He reeled back his swordarm and let fly. "GO DOWN AND STAY DOWN!" he hollered as he threw it. It struck in the nick of time, and Ash had to spin to the side to evade the body again. He fell down and grabbed his sword again as he did. Still in the air, Ash felt that he could get in another toss of the sword at the Nobody's face, and did so. It hit, and just before landing, too. When it hit, the Nobody caused the floor to shake a bit from the force. The Nobody looked like it had stars swimming around its head from TWO strikes down.

Ash, getting that feeling that this was it, clutched his sword and charged, launching as many comboes as he could. One...two...three...(the Nobody remained motionless as Ash ended the third, which was when it normally rose)...FOUR! Ash finally swung his sword in his finishing move once last time. As soon as he did, the Nobody began to writhe and beat the floor. It rolled this way, then that, then back on its back. And then, it faded away in a swirl of darkness.

Ash, gasping for breath, could only get out a weak, "Yaaay..." before the floor started to crack underneath him. He looked in disparagment down at the floor. "Noooo..." The Nobody finished vanishing, and when it did, the voice returned.

_Then you have sealed your fate. Let the mighty task be placed before you. Let many worlds be placed upon your shoulders. Let your fate begin._

Ash cried as the floor finally shattered. He saw no floor below, only darkness, and as he fell, he couldn't help but wave his arms in panic. He was only able to grab his hat from reflex, but his sword dropped away from him. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he screamed. "AAAAAAHH! AAAAAAAHHHH...Aaaahh...uuuhhhnnnn..." Soon, the exhaustion caught up with him, and he slowly closed his eyes and fell down, head-first, hat being pushed onto his head. All went black.

-'-,-'-

Ash gasped as he sat up in bed, panting. It took him a second before he realized that he had been dreaming. It was daylight, and Kairi, who had been entering with a tray of food, squeaked and nearly dropped the items. "Ash! What's wrong?" she breathed, holding a hand to her chest as her heart thudded.

Ash panted, sweat on him, as he stared in front of him. 'I...What...Huh...?' He shook his head and looked up. Now Lucario, who had been sleeping on a couple blankets that had been spread out on the floor and had been woken up by Kairi's squeak of surprise, joined the girl as they looked in concern at Ash. He smiled weakly. "Oh, it's nothing," he assured them. "It was just a nightmare, that's all."

Kairi smiled. "That's good," she said. "I thought you suddenly had gotten a fever and was starting to get delerious." She laughed at her joke, then came in, giving him the tray. "Here you guys go, some fresh breakfast for you! Eat up, and I guess I'll be seeing you guys in a bit, huh?" She smiled and walked back out the door.

Lucario walked over to Ash, who had swung out of bed, in nothing but a pair of shorts he wore when he slept. ''I was detecting strange aura pulses from you when I was sleeping,'' he said. ''What happened? It must have been some nightmare...''

Ash nodded in agreement, then explained the whole thing while he took some still-warm toast. When he had finished, he was eating his scrambled eggs. (He'd been brought some American breakfast today.)

Lucario, munching on some of the bacon that Ash said he could eat, bowed his head in thought, chewing thoughtfully. ''Hmmm...It appears that you have now chosen to embark on some sort of journey, since this dream, although strange, indeed, sounds both too real and too organized. Normally, dreams are fickle, and almost never remain in one situation for the entirety of it. Yours was, as far as I can tell, of special significance.''

Ash chewed his eggs and swallowed, nodding. He then smiled at Lucario. "Thanks for teaching me how to use my aura," he said. "I never would've felt those pulses if I wasn't letting the aura fill my body like that." He took another bite of eggy goodness. "I have a feeling that if I was knocked out-or worse-in that dream, it wouldn't've turned out well," he muttered through a full mouth.

Lucario shrugged and finished his bacon. ''This was cooked in too much oil,'' he grimaced, and Ash laughed as best he could with his mouth closed so he didn't spray anything. Lucario gave a small smile. ''Oh, well. I guess I shouldn't say that to Kairi, since I think she cooked it. But I shouldn't complain, anyway, since I wanted meat in the first place. Berries are good, but I DO eat meat now and again,'' he told Ash.

Ash smiled, then ate the rest of his breakfast while Lucario ate his berries. When the two finished, Lucario went outside while Ash dressed and such. When Ash grabbed his wooden toy sword, he held it for a moment, looking at it. It felt almost alien to him, now, after he'd used that other sword so much before. 'It almost feels like this isn't real anymore,' he mused, then put it in his belt and went out the door.

Notice I included Ash's Dive dream and neglected Maru's; The reason is that I'm a lazy-ass lil' mofo. Sorry. Also, I think it was more appropriate for me to detail Ash's instead of Maru's, since Mewtwo is much more used to fighting himself than Ash is. And I decided to use Twilight Thorn because I was too lazy to come up with another big bad first boss. See? Lazy-ass lil' mofo! XD;;


	4. 01: They're BAAAAAAaaaaack!

Ash went out and found Lucario fighting against Wakka and winning. Wakka said he gave up when Ash got there.

Lucario nodded. ''Thank you for the good fight,'' he said, reaching down and helping up Wakka from the sand.

Wakka laughed boisterously. "Anytime, my furry friend!" he replied, and walked off, holding his ball. (SINGULAR, you dirty-minded—wait, _I'm_ one to talk...)

Ash (gave me a look for that, then) went forward. He and Lucario went and found the three main people of the island, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, talking under the Paupu tree.

"Hey, guys!" Ash called as he walked the bridge over to the islet. Lucario nodded beside him.

Sora and Kairi waved back, Riku just nodded as well. "You feeling better, now, Ash?" Kairi asked.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yup! Thanks so much for the breakfast, it was great!"

''Not bad bacon, either,'' added Lucario, making himself not smile.

Kairi raised her eyebrows. "Lucario? You ate the bacon?" she asked. She chuckled nervously and gave a sheepish face, pressing the tips of her index fingers together. "I kinda used a little bit too much oil on them, but I didn't think Ash would notice, what with the way he shoves food in his mouth all the time. Sorry if it tasted bad!" she apologized.

Lucario said that was okay, but Ash gave half-eyes to the girl, who laughed and said she was sorry. Ash laughed and smiled, too. "Naw, it's alright," he said. "I'm a bit of a pig when it comes to food, so I don't blame ya." The two Pokémon-worlders got over to the three. Ash tilted his head, looking up at the star-shaped fruit in the tree. "What is that fruit there?" he asked, pointing. "It looks so weird, compared to the other fruit I've seen on this island."

Riku smiled. "That's a Paupu fruit," he explained. "They say that whoever you share it with becomes the person that your fate is bound together with forever."

Ash raised his eyebrows at this. "Really? Wow, guess you gotta be pretty committed if you're going to share it," he joked. He shrugged, then looked at Sora. "Ready for a bit of practice today?" he asked.

Sora sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, Ash, but not today," he said, raising a hand. "I'm just...not in the mood. Sorry."

Ash brought his eyebrows together and up. "Awww..." he sighed in disappointment, sagging forward a little. "I wanted to see if I can remember some stuff I dreamt about doing last night that were pretty dang cool...Oh, well..."

Riku raised an eyebrow at this. "What kinda stuff?" he asked.

Ash shrugged. "Well, stuff like, when I feel the chance come up, scoot around someone, or break free of being held by some weird invisible straps, or even just jump really high," he listed. He remembered something and added, "Oh, I think the things I was fighting in my dreams were those Nobody things you guys told me about when I first woke up here. They were white and silvery and moved really weird, and I even fought one BIG one."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi immediately shot up their eyebrows. They glanced at each other, then Sora asked, "How did the Nobodies look?"

Ash put a hand to his chin. "I think they mostly looked like they had no hands or feet, and they looked like their heads were, like, unzipped," he described. "The big one looked like an anorexic knight or something with a blue scarf."

The three looked at each other, nodding. "The first one's a Dusk," Riku said. "The second one...I dunno. Never seen it before. But it sounds like a Nobody to me."

"Where'd you fight them?" Sora asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head questioningly.

"On big, round, stained glass platforms," Ash answered. "They had images from my memory of encounters with legendary pokémon. The first had Celebi, the next had Jirachi, and the last two were both Mew, but different ones, I think. One was the Mew at the Tree of Beginning, and the other...I think it's the Mew that tried fighting...er, nevermind that last one," he hastily interrupted himself, sweatdropping and shaking his hands. 'As much as I like these guys, and though we're in a different world where it probably doesn't matter, I don't want to break my promise...'

They gave him eyebrow raises at that last part, but ignored it otherwise. "That sounds an awful lot like the place I found when I was asleep a few days before my journey began," Sora muttered, looking down. "I fought Heartless, though. I had to chose one weapon and give up another. Did you?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. "I just grabbed a sword that appeared on a pedestal before me when I first got there," he said, shrugging. "Then I fell to the next platform."

Sora raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Beats me, then," he said, shrugging. "Dunno what that weapon thing will do to you, but you say that you got to do different stuff when you felt the chance?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. You know how I let the aura within my body flow throughout it when I'm fighting to help me keep calm, right?" Sora nodded. "Well, I felt it sort of pulse sometimes, and by, well, going with the flow, I did some neat stuff that helped in battle. I scooted around a Dusk, flew away from lightning bolts the big Nobody sent at me while sort of 'swimming' towards it, and even had the idea to chuck my sword down when it had flung me up and tried to charge me by surprise. I even did it twice before hitting the floor again, and that let me get more hits in before it got up again!" he added, grinning. "It was the most exciting dream I ever had! Well, apart from the fact that every time I got hurt, it REALLY hurt, but otherwise, it was actually a little fun."

Sora raised his eyebrow. "That's odd...I usually can only React when I'm using the Key...blade..." He trailed off, something dawning on him. "...Naaaw..." he whispered.

Riku asked what it was, and Sora and he whispered to each other. Kairi joined in and the three muttered about something. Ash felt a little disrespected, obviously being talked about while he couldn't hear it, but showed no sign when they stopped. Riku faced him. "Your dream probably has some significance," he said, "but don't expect to do that kinda stuff in real life."

Ash sighed in defeat. "Awwww...Oh, well, at least I can do something other people usually don't know how to do," he silver-lininged. "I can use my aura pretty well, I think!"

Sora smiled. "Well, that's okay, but sorry, no training today," he said. "Why not practice against the other guys?" he suggested, motioning to the beach.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Okay!" he said, then ran off.

Lucario stayed a moment. ''You're hiding something from him, I can feel it,'' he said.

Riku frowned a little. "We just don't want him to get his hopes up if things don't turn out," he reasoned.

Lucario stayed a second, looking at them, then turned and ran after Ash.

**-'-,-'-**

Ash _did_ decide to fight with the others, and when he did, he paid special attention to his aura. And it paid off quite well. For instance, when fighting Selphie, he felt it pulse. Instantly, he grabbed the jumprope being whipped at him and yanked. Selphie, surprised by this, was carried along to Ash, who, after letting go, took the opportunity to get a good few whacks at her. He apologized later, though, if she felt cheated from it. He also felt a chance arrive when fighting Wakka, which let him jump up and beat the ball back in the exact direction that the young FFX'er was at current. However, since he was confident enough in fighting him without using any Reactions, Ash chose to ignore the chance and instead went for the challenge of hitting it the right way himself.

Eventually, he got a little tired and sat down. But as soon as he was rested up again, he was up and training some more. While Ash trained, Lucario trained, too. He usually did so on his own, but once or twice, the two would spar against each other. The pokémon also let Ash stay sharp on his training skills, which would in turn let himself get stronger.

At one point, the day got very hot, and so Ash and some of the others decided to go for a swim in the ocean. It was fun, with splashes all around, the cool waves splashing against them, and everything. Lucario opted not to join, though he did allow himself to wade in a bit up to his waist.

Finally, sunset came. Ash and Lucario joined Sora, Riku, and Kairi in lying on the sand and watching the sun go down. Sora sighed and smiled. "This is great," he said. "Lazy summer days of hanging out here, beautiful nights with tons of stars, and all sorts of stuff. And all of this with your best friends...isn't it great?"

Ash smiled. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, then sighed. "Well, at least for the stuff before the friends part..."

Sora smacked his forehead. "Oh, man, sorry, I forgot about that! Sorry!" he said, sweatdropping.

Ash shook his head. "That's alright, nobody's perfect," he dismissed it.

Kairi smiled sympathetically. "I hope that your friends will come back someday," she said. "I know exactly how it feels to go around a strange place, not knowing where your friends are, for a long time. We all do." Riku and Sora nodded solemnly. Even Lucario nodded.

Ash sighed and looked at them all. "Thanks," he said. "I'm sorry I've got to bum off you guys so much, but...that's the way things go, huh?"

Riku shrugged. "Yeah, that's it, all right," he said. "It's fate, I guess. It bites, but that's how it happens. The thing that seperates the boys from the men, though, is if you're able to keep going." He gave a little smile to the Trainer.

Ash nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, smiling. Then they all looked back out at the ocean and the sunset for a bit. Finally, when it sank fully beneath the horizon after turning the water orange, Sora, Riku, and Kairi got up and said good night. Ash did so, too, and went to eat supper. Before going in for the night, though, he paused and looked at the stars overhead.

''I had a dream last night, too,'' Lucario said.

"Really? Like mine?" Ash asked.

He shook his head. ''Not quite. But there was a field, and on it, a cloaked figure. It said, 'Every time a star winks out, a world has disappeared.''' He looked up at the stars and added distantly, ''I just hope that the star can come back...'' He clenched his fists. ''I hope Aaron and the others are okay...''

Ash put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to him. He was smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry," he said, "they'll be alright. Just don't give up on that thought, and everything will be okay again." He looked up at the stars again, determined look on his face. "Just...don't lose faith."

The stars glittered and shone to them.

**-'-,-'-**

_That night, Ash dreamed about Pikachu. He dreamed of the little guy fighting against humans, jumping around on platforms. Then, suddenly, a black-cloaked figure appeared. "Are you ready?" it asked, facing the direction Ash was viewing from. "Because the fun's about to begin."_

**-'-,-'-**

Ash awoke, blinking his eyes wide open and feeling energized from something. He sat up and looked around. It was still night.

''Ash?''

"Hm?" Ash turned his head and saw Lucario getting up, just as awake as him. "Lucario...Did you just wake up all of a sudden, too?" he asked.

The pokémon nodded. ''Yes, and I don't know why. Nor do I have a good feeling about it.'' He looked outside the window, then squinted his eyes. ''And that feeling just became a whole lot worse.'' He stood up and walked outside. Ash looked out and watched him stand on the walkway around the shack, back turned to him. His dreads flew up, and then, with a start, Lucario bounded back into the shack. ''I can't see any waves at all on the island!'' he cried.

Ash shot up out of bed, alarmed. "What? Are you sure your aura vision is working?" he asked. Lucario nodded. "Then what does it mean?"

''It means that those without hearts, which are the producers of aura, are approaching,'' Lucario answered.

Ash gasped, his own freezing. "You mean...the...the Heartless?" he asked breathlessly.

Lucario nodded. ''I think it would be wise to get dressed,'' he stated somewhat slower than usual, then went outside and waited, viewing the waves of aura as best he could.

Ash nodded, then went and got his last clean pair of underwear on and put on his other clothes, which he'd decided to wash during the day yesterday after he was out swimming(he spent much the rest of the day in swim trunks that he kept zipped in a pocket in his bag that had, he found out, also remained from his trip across worlds). He grabbed his bag now as he left, sword in belt.

When he got out, Lucario pointed to the dock. ''I saw three people arrive,'' he said. ''I think it's Sora, Riku, and Kairi.''

Ash nodded. "Alright, let's go," he said, and the two went. Above, they noticed the stars were being covered by something big and black. They ran across the sand, a feeling of dread creep into them with every step. They reached the docks and kept going, since nobody was there. Ash wondered whey they'd be, and decided to check the treehouses. Nobody. He went back down and went to circle the island.

Soon, Lucario, running with his aura vision on, said, ''I can sense them,'' after a while. They had gotten near the Paupu tree island.

Ash looked. "Of course!" he muttered. "They're on the Paupu tree island over there!" The two got to and ran across the wooden bridge.

Indeed, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were standing there, looking to the sea. When they heard Ash approaching, they turned. Their expressions were serious. "Ash," Sora said as the Trainer got there. "Take one of the boats and leave. Something bad's coming."

Ash shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that," he replied. He gave a little chuckle. "Truth is, I'm just a magnet for really amazing stuff, so it'd probably be useless, anyway," he pointed out, shrugging. "So what if it's the end of the world or something—I've gone through at least three ordeals that deal with that, whether it's immediately or potentially catastrophic."

Sora frowned. "Now's not the time to boast," he scolded. "There's gonna be a lot of danger ahead, and your toy sword won't protect you. Lucario might be fine, but you won't. Not unless you find a knife or something, but even then, it wouldn't be much use."

Ash narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists. "It's the Heartless, isn't it?" he asked. "Lucario said that he couldn't see any aura from the island, and that means that the Heartless are around or something."

Lucario nodded. ''When the Heartless attacked me in my world, I sensed no aura from them at all. I suspect, since the island's aura is either truly gone or at least being covered, the Heartless shall come.'' He clenched his fists and lashed his tail a little. ''And Ash and I are staying, whether you like it or not. You can't make us leave until we get to the bottom of this.''

Ash nodded at this, crossing his arms. "Thanks, Lucario," he added in a whisper.

''No problem. It's the truth,'' Lucario whispered back.

Riku frowned. "Alright, you guys," he said uncertainly, "but don't say we never warned you." Ash and Lucario agreed, and Riku and Sora turned back to the sea. "They're about to arrive. I don't know why they want to come back, since Sora sealed our world's heart ages ago, but they're here, and they're not happy." He smirked. "They'll be even less happy after they discover they're going to be given a taste of their own medicine..."

Ash tilted his head, wondering, but Lucario reminded him by saying, ''You mean your unique power over darkness.''

"Yup."

"I'm probably a worse fighter than Ash," Kairi said, the only one still facing the Trainer and pokémon, "but I'm not going to let some shadowy things take me away for a THIRD time!" She looked determined, like Ash. She turned too.

Ash went over, clutching his sword's hilt with his left hand. "I'm feeling something bad," he said. "Like dread. Except worse." He stood beside them, Lucario going beside him, the five forming a line.

The three nodded simultaneously in silence.

They waited. And waited. Tension rose within their hearts after a good eight minutes, as if they were on a roller coaster and about to take the biggest plunge of their lives. Only instead of knowing that it's just a ride, they didn't know what would happen, and if they'll be safe. Ash gasped, widening his eyes at the feeling. "Woah," he whispered, feeling as if a weight was trying to push him down, and took a step back, as if bracing against it.

"'Woah' is right," Kairi agreed, clutching at the front of her skirt. "This feels...almost unbearable!"

Sora nodded, wincing and clenching his fists. "It's the power of dread the Heartless possess," he explained. "I feel something like it right before the first invasion of them on a world I visit."

Riku was the only one who was visibly was unaffected. He actually looked more disturbed and perhaps guilty. "A feeling that I have the power to give others with my abilities..." he muttered, looking at his gloved hand.

Lucario was growling, in his fighting pose. ''I feel like all the fur on my body is standing on end,'' he described, ''but I know it's just on the back of my neck. The nothingness of the waves...I can feel it getting stronger quite rapidly.'' He gasped, suddenly.

A second later, what felt like a solid wave of dread and shock hit them, though they saw nothing. Instead, a fell wind started to blow. As soon as they felt it, everyone drew their weapons. Sora, Riku, and Kairi summoned their Keyblades and got into stance, Ash pulled his comparitively measly fake wooden sword out from his belt, and Lucario stayed still, already in his fighting pose. "Here it comes!" Riku warned.

And indeed, what seemed to be a giant, swirling black cloud blew in, springing up from a point in the distance. And when it came close, the three Keybladers turned. Ash and Lucario turned afterwards, following example. After a few seconds, Sora ran forward, leaped up, and came down on what looked like an unoccupied spot.

Instead, right when he came down, a black creature sprang up from a small pool of darkness. As Sora's Keyblade struck it, a distinct sound was heard, and the being disippated almost right afterwards.

Riku growled. "The Heartless has come," he murmured, and ran forth.

Kairi didn't charge ahead with them, but stayed behind, with Ash and Lucario as all around them, black fiends known to all of us as the Heartless appeared.

Ash was a little scared at first when the creatures appeared, but he soon overcame it and bravely, after tapping into his aura, attacked one nearby. He gasped when his sword went right through it. He swung again and again, but to no avail. "It DOESN'T work!" he cried in dismay.

Suddenly, Lucario ran in and launched an uppercut at the Heartless, causing it to fly back, hit a tree, and vanish in a cloud of black. ''THAT did,'' he said. ''But it might be because I know what I'm doing. Unless you know how to do a real martial arts move, I don't reccomend fighting like I do,'' he advised, beating a few more.

"Yah! Take THAT, you ugly things!" Kairi shouted as she whacked away the beasts. She sweatdropped as she saw Ash, who was miserably defenseless, and the amount of the Heartless. "Uuuuh...I think it would be wise if we go by the guys," she said, and the three ran and went to where the guys were.

Right now, Sora and Riku were slashing away the Heartless. "I know I shouldn't be complaining," Sora said, beating his next one, "but, sorry to say, this is too easy!"

Riku laughed. "I know exactly what you mean," he agreed, bashing away another one. "I don't want to seem like I WANT these guys to be harder, but I kinda do want a bit of a challange."

Kairi groaned, rolling her eyes as she got to them. "Ash, why is it you guys are like that?" she asked, glancing at him breifly before she turned back to smack away another Heartless with her floral weapon.

Ash shrugged. "Must be the testosterone," he reasoned.

"MUST be...Nnf! Uhng! Go AWAY!" Kairi angrilly swung and swung, batting away Heartless while releasing bursts of flowers with every hit. Riku's created bursts of darkness(not sure on this), while Sora's had classic stars flying from each hit. Ash didn't know what he'd make, since he couldn't hit a single one. Lucario's hits created no special effect at all.

The three advanced along the bridge, Ash sometimes futilly swinging his sword and getting madder with each passthrough. 'This SUCKS!' he couldn't help but think. 'All my hard work training, and not a single scratch on these things?' He then had an idea. 'Wait...My aura! Maybe I can bring out my aura to my sword...' He held it with both hands, making sure he was guarded from Heartless from all sides by Kairi, Riku, Sora, and Lucario, then focused hard. "C'moooooon..." he grunted.

Lucario glanced over at him and raised his eyebrows. ''Ash! Don't try and bring out your aura at a time like this if you don't know how!'' he admonished. ''You also experienced how draining it is to use it, so unless you get something like Sir Aaron's gloves, you shouldn't try!''

Ash growled, "Well, I want to fight these things!" and continued trying to will his aura into the wooden weapon. He felt it come from his body, and a drain immediately occured. "Aack!" he cried, just as the sword began to glow blue, and released the aura. He panted, slowing down until Lucario pushed him forward to run again. "Okay, sorry, you were right," he admitted to the pokémon.

Lucario only eyed him, then sent a running Tackle through some Heartless.

After a time, the party reached the end of the bridge, where more Heartless were waiting. Sora grunted as he swung his Keyblade. "It's like the island's carpeted with them!" he shouted. "No safe places whatsoever!"

Riku let out short shouts with each swing. "I knew I should've forced Ash to leave!" he grumbled. "Now we've all gotta babysit the fool since he can't fend for himself!"

Ash angerveined. "DON'T RUB IT IN!" he cried, then yelped and jumped over a Heartless that tried a sliding kick into him.

The group had to stop after a while, from all the Heartless around them. They couldn't make any headway, they just couldn't. Now, on a small, grassy plateau, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ash, and Lucario were surrounded by Heartless. Many tried to jump out at them, but they were beaten off each time. The four who could fight decided to surround Ash, sheilding him.

Lucario growled. ''This is just like before, in my world!'' he realized. ''Surrounded by Heartless and fighting them off as they attack!'' He looked anxiously at Ash. 'Why? I thought _he_ would be the one to hold the key! Nobody else's aura is like Aaron's around here...What does Ash need to do in order to get the Keyblade?'

Ash wasn't happy, either. He was reduced to having to be guarded because he can't fight. 'WHY?' he wanted to scream. 'Why can't I get a Keyblade? I NEED it! I need it so I can find my friends, please!'

Nothing.

Except for the scream of Kairi as she was hit. Then another. And another. The four surrounding Ash were getting tired, thus getting hit! After the first lapse occured, the Heartless began to attack in an absolute frenzy. Though the weakest of all Heartless, the thick crowd was able to begin to overwhelm the three. Kairi yelled and retreated next to Ash. Then Lucario could do nothing but block hits, then Sora, and finally Riku, who couldn't break free enough to try and use Dark Aura again without getting interrupted.

Ash looked in horror at this, and a new fear entered his heart. 'The Heartless steal hearts after weakening their enemies,' he remembered. 'And...my new friends—as well as my old—they're all getting hurt badly!' He growled in fury. In a low, crescendoing voice, he asked himself, "What am I doing, standing here and whining for my old friends, when I've got friends who need my help right here? Friends who are protecting me with their lives?" He looked at the Heartless and clutched his wooden sword. _"I don't need the Keyblade to find my friends right now!"_ He clenched his eyes shut as he shouted, the Heartless now closing in on him, _**"I NEED IT TO PROTECT THE FRIENDS I HAVE NOW!"**_

That was all that was heard before the Heartless covered them all. Ash's cry echoed throughout the island, and as it did, it got softer and softer. Then, it appeared to increase in volume, rising until, all of a sudden, a glorious, intense sunburst appeared, blowing away Heartless for a good 20 foot radius from the origin. When it cleared, everyone was safe. In fact, they felt better than ever. Blinking from the light, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Lucario stood, looking around at the Heartless, who had all paused for a moment in surprise. Then, they turned behind them and gasped.

There stood Ash, holding a fist in his left hand, a dead-serious determined look on his face, and, in his right hand, a Keyblade. It appeared to be similar to Sora's, except the barrel, bit, and keychain were all copper instead of silver, the double-handguard was orange instead of yellow and had four "nuts" instead of the two on Sora's, the band was green, and there was a second, much smaller tooth under the main one, which had a single hole shaped like half of a doughnut, the hole of which a circular notch was placed in on the outside part of the tooth; it basically resembled a half of a pokéball. The Mickey Mouse logo keychain bore an etching on the main circle made to look like a pokéball. "I need it to protect the friends I have now, because I couldn't do it before," he said, voice low again, slowly turning the bill of his hat from facing forwards to facing backwards. His eyes were glowing light blue, the color of aura. "And now, for my next battler..." He whipped into fighting stance, bending legs and shooting his left hand around to the hilt. "...I choose ME!"

And with that, Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, charged forth into the writhing mass of darkness before him.

*****OBTAINED Kingdom Key*****

It wasn't until I looked at another picture of a Kingdom Key that I realized that what I had drawn for Ash was WRONG-O. I made the extra tooth on purpose, but the extra nut things were a mistake. I just thought that was how Kingdom Key looked. Sorry :D;

Other note: While I had the chance, I decided to edit the part before the last sentence. Before it was "fighter" instead of "battler"s—"battler" makes more sense coming from him since it's closer to Trainer lingo—and I didn't have him quickly get into stance, which he should've done; this way, it's cooler, I think.


	5. 01: At The Heartless of The Problem

Ash charged the Heartless, making a loud "YES!" when his first hit connected. The "hit burst" was like Sora's. He finished the combo and started another on another Heartless. He fought for a while before glancing over to the others. To his relief, they had been smart enough to start fighting again. He ducked and turned again, evading a Heartless that had tried to hit him, and went back to business.

After a while, Ash decided to work his way back to the rest of the group. Everyone had split up and taken on a bunch on their own, but had found that idea to be very stupid. He chided himself for his recklessness. The others were making their way over to someone: Kairi was going over to Sora, Sora over to Riku, and Lucario over to Ash. It was like wading in a thick, fighting, black-covered swamp. They made their way to each other, though, and the two small groups met again. They met in a circle, which they instantly put their backs to the middle of.

"Nice Keyblade!" smiled Sora as he got near Ash.

Ash grinned. "Thanks!" he replied.

Kairi sighed. "Could we save this? We need to work together and fight these things off! There's a bit too much to work on parts by ourselves..."

''Agreed,'' Lucario nodded, sending an Aura Sphere out to blow away a couple.

Riku got a couple at once in one stroke. "Okay, then, but we need a plan," he said. "The only thing I can think of is for me and Sora to try and remember what the heck that attack we worked out in The World That Never Was was, while you guys keep the Shadows off our backs."

Sora shook his head. "No, I don't know if that'll work, not with so many of these things attacking," he said. "There's got to be a way we can fight all together at once! If we can each use a Keyblade-excluding Lucario, who can fight well enough without a weapon-then we each have our own power to unleash!"

Kairi looked over to Ash. "How the heck did you make that big burst of light before?" she asked. "That thing blasted off so many Heartless, I could breathe again like it was nothing!"

Ash shook his head. "It was the Keyblade appearing in my hand and replacing my toy sword," he guessed.

''Well, we need to come up with something fast, or else we're in deep trouble,'' Lucario growled.

The five worked their minds to the limit, fighting off any Heartless while doing so, for a while, getting more and more tired, little by little, second by second.

Ash looked at the situation, and his tactician's mind worked furiously to analyze it and discover a solution. He decided to think aloud, in case anyone else who heard could think up something with the information in one place. "Let's see, then: We're on a small patch of land by the bridge to the Paupu tree island, surrounded by Heartless as far as the eye can see. The good news is they're relatively weak, but the bad news is that there's both tons of them and we're starting to get tired from constantly whacking them away. They're not in the water, but unless we've got more light in us than we thought, we probably can't use that to our real advantage. Sora and Riku are both extremely powerful, and hinted to a combo attack a short time ago. Lucario is strong, but not as strong as he can be, and his ability to see aura is useless because the Heartless HAVE no aura. Me and Kairi are both able to fight, but we're not all that great compared to Sora and Riku. All five of us, though, have powerful determination, and I have the power of my own aura. Finally, we're getting tired and need to find a way to fight off as many Heartless as we possibly can until we can at least figure out where to go and how to stop them." He furrowed his brow as he said this.

The others listened, absorbing the facts, and now mulled them over in their minds.

"I can use a lot of attacks," Sora decided to add, "as can Riku, but we both don't have infinite energy to use them over and over. And we both have forgotten the Limit attack we worked out a while back."

"And I'm starting to get REALLY tired," Kairi said, "so can we PLEASE figure SOMETHING out?"

Ash thought furiously. "If only I could feel a chance within my aura!" he moaned. "Then, I could react to it and do something to destroy these things!"

Sora gritted his teeth. "Sorry, but that 'chance,' which I've called a Reaction Command, only comes when the idea is at least present in some part of your mind," he told Ash. "Until we start to get an idea of what to do, we're screwed!"

Ash grimaced. "Great, that's reassuring," he muttered. He looked at his Keyblade, then remembered what he did with the sword back in his dream. "Hey, do these things return to us when we throw them?" he asked.

Sora nodded. "It's an attack I call Strike Raid," he said. "If I spend enough power, I can unleash an advanced version I've called Judgment, where my Keyblade flies around some more and attacks the enemy on its own. Normally, I have to keep throwing it, and it only works once, and it comes back each time it hits someone. If you're thinking of throwing yours in hopes it'll plow through, I've got bad news...Sorry..."

Ash looked at his Keyblade. "What if we all work together and, like...throw our Keyblades out, combining them into one big attack, and use that to attack all of the Heartless around here?" he suggested.

Riku scoffed. "Please, that's impossible," he said, whacking away another one. "They can't combine into one thing, since they're all solid, despite being able to change shape. They'd whack against each other, bouncing away."

Ash looked around some more, nodding. "Alright, then..." He looked at the sky. "It looks stormy," he muttered. Then, something lit up and dinged in his head. "Stormy weather brings things like thunderstorms, rain, lots of wind...and tornadoes!" he cried. He looked at everyone. "That's it! If we can throw the Keyblades out and make them spin around each other in circles above one another, then we might generate enough force to create a tornado, sucking in Heartless and attacking them, while we sit in the water or something and watch!"

This caused everyone to widen their eyes and glance at him. "You're really not putting that Strike Raid idea away, are you?" Sora asked, a little bit of admiration in his voice. "If we can make it work, if it DOES, then it's an awesome idea!"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, I get it!" she said, and then looked inspired, herself. "Then, maybe we might be able to make our Keyblades rain light or something to take care of the others, using the power within us," she suggested.

Ash grinned. "Yeah! And to finish up, when we catch our Keyblades, we'll throw them so that they all circle around our bodies in a big circle, clearing any around us!"

''That sounds like it would be better to do FIRST,'' Lucario said. ''I hope that my power of aura will be enough to help in any way I can, as weakened as it's become...''

Riku smiled. "Don't worry, if it works, all the energy we'll need is what we give each other. We'll share the energy and launch one big Limit!" He grinned, then looked at the Heartless. "Ash, I've got to hand it to you, you're not good at fighting, but when it comes to strategy, you're not half-bad!"

Ash grinned. "I've gotta be at least fairly good if I want to be a good trainer!" he reasoned. "Well, Sora? How's this plan sound?" he asked.

Sora tilted his head, as if unsure. "I dunno," he said. He waited for a few moments. "I mean, if we could carry all that water out there and spray it outwards when the tornado comes, we'll have quite a force to be reckoned with," he finally said.

Ash, who had been feeling horror at his idea being shot down again, grinned and nodded. "Then let's do it!" he said.

''But...can we?'' Lucario asked. ''We need to feel it, now, right?''

"Yeah, but this is different. We need to be together!" Sora said, and clutched his Keyblade. "Believe in the power within each other, and let it flow!"

Ash nodded. "Right!" He nodded, clenching his fist. "We can do this!"

"We've GOT to do this!" Kairi pointed out.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Riku asked.

''THAT!'' Lucario answered as he felt a surge in his aura. Everyone around him felt a surge of power from within, too. As well, in their Keyblades, the humans felt what was undoubtedly a chance.

Ash and Lucario felt their aura surge, while Riku, Sora, and Kairi felt the power of their hearts reach boiling point. As one, the Keybladers reeled back their weapons and Lucario charged up an enormous Aura Sphere with insane speed.

''"Let's go!"'' everyone cried as they released their attacks.

The Keyblades and Lucario's Aura Sphere went out and around, plowing through enemies at top speed. Each Keyblade glowed with light, except Riku's, which emitted darkness, as it cycled out and around the five. After one grand rotation, the weapons returned to their owners, Lucario actually catching his Aura Sphere, which was still intact.

Next, the five aimed out to the ocean and threw their projectiles. The Keyblades spun like mad tops, while Lucario's Aura Sphere seared off. Then, above a good part of the water, the Keyblades began to spin around in circles in different levels. They went up and down, spiraling in and out, going up and down, and moving aside when any collision would be imminent. The Aura Sphere did the same, although it went outside the other Keyblades at all times, surrounding the cone the weapons began shaping.

Then, soon, as the attacks accellerated, a vortex of light, shadow, and aura appeared. Water began to be sucked up into it, and soon, high winds were felt. The world's smallest and fastest-to-form hurricane was soon ready. Then, everyone, controlling their Keyblades from afar, brought the storm back to land to the many Heartless waiting for it. When it hit, the hurricane of Keyblades and aura crashed with such a sound, it shook the island. Water and energy went everywhere, and Heartless flew into the vortex, helpless. The water flying all over went with such force it blew away any Heartless it touched.

As the hurricane became a tornado, more Heartless were sucked in. The initiators of the attack were impervious to its effects, somehow, but were still wary enough to duck for any soaring Heartless. Every Heartless that entered the vortex was destroyed. When the water was all flung out, the vortex remained, sucking up any Heartless still present, for a few moments, until it finished off.

Every Keyblade slowly made its way upwards, flinging itself to the clouds above, one after another, and the Aura Sphere went last. Then, after a moment, the clouds rumbled. The night was then defied as it began to rain down drops of light, aura, and darkness, illuminating the island. The rain fell down on the group of five, and it felt very good to their physically exhausted bodies. The Heartless, however, all over the island, were NOT happy, since the attacks hit them like an enormous gattling gun. All over, on the flashingly-lit island, Heartless vanished.

At last, after a few seconds of the attack, the Keyblades came back down, as did the Aura Sphere. Each came to their owner, who caught it. When Lucario caught Aura Sphere, it absorbed into his body again. The light (or darkness) around the Keyblades faded as their wielders held them. The Limit ended.

The five panted, recovering from the immense power they had to use together to fuel the insanely large attack. They looked at each other and laughed a little. They rested for a good, long two minutes.

And not a single Heartless returned.

When Ash noticed this, he gasped and brought his open mouth into a smile, laughing a little. "I can't believe it," he said, "it worked!"

Sora and Riku were equally amazed. "But last time, they were coming infinitely," Sora recalled. "How did we eliminate them all?"

"And, big as it was, with one attack?" added Riku.

Kairi panted, weakly holding her Keyblade. "Look, guys, let's just be happy we did it," she breathed.

''Agreed,'' Lucario nodded. ''I shall marvel at my momentary surge of aura later.''

Sora chuckled and turned to Ash. "Thanks, Ash," he said. "Without your idea, we never would've figured it all out."

"Yeah," Riku agreed, turning to Ash as well. "Your idea probably sounded so absurd, we couldn't help but imagine what could happen to make it better, and then we DID it."

''And finishing with each one of us still alive!'' added Lucario, who chuckled a little bit, too.

Kairi smiled. "Thanks, Ash, for helping us out, there."

Ash looked at everyone, then blushed enormously and put his hand behind his head, grinning sheepishly. "Aww, it wasn't all me, you guys pitched in just as much as I did," he replied humbly. "But th-thanks, I guess! Heh-heh!"

They all breathed a sigh of relief from the fighting ending(for now), then turned to look up. The stars were still not visible. "Lucario, can you see the aura of the island?" Ash asked.

Lucario tried. ''Unfortunately, despite our efforts...'' he reported.

The humans frowned, and Ash snapped his fingers, muttering, "Darn." "Then what do we do?" asked Kairi. "We can't possibly have the energy to do that attack again! I'm wiped as it is."

Riku thought for a moment. "Well, we should find whatever general is commanding the army," he said. "Then, we might just be able to beat them away from our world."

"But why did they come back?" Sora wondered. He thought for a while, as did the others. "Maybe for revenge against us kicking so many of their butts?" he thought.

Riku shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe."

"Well," Ash said, "whatever it is, while that attack we did got them out of our hair for a bit, they're going to come back soon, I can tell." He snapped his fingers again. "Dangit, if only we could sense them from a distance! Then we could find out what to do!"

''If only, if only,'' murmured Lucario, shaking his head. ''We need to quit wishing and start looking. Because the fighting's at least lulled for now, we might be safe splitting up and searching the island for clues.''

Ash nodded. "If we get ambushed by more swarms of Heartless, we've just got to make our way to..." He thought for a moment. "The beach!" he decided. "That way we can have water to hide in. In fact, we might want to just swim around the island to escape."

"Good thinking," Sora said. "Alright, let's go!"

Everyone agreed, then split up. They each stopped at a part of the island, dividing it into fifths, then began searching. Lucario went to the beach, Ash the shack, Riku the Paupu island area, Sora the cove, and Kairi the cave. After ten minutes of searching, they found nothing that might lead them to a clue. They went to the beach and reported their results to each other.

Ash sighed, then flopped down on the sand. "Ugh, is that cloud going to stay up there forever?" he whined, looking up. "If only we could get there, then we could find out what's going on, for sure."

Kairi flopped down beside him. "Well, good luck doing that, unless you've figured out how to fly there," she grumped.

Ash shook his head. "That I haven't," he said. "I've got a feeling that we can't find out at all from here."

Sora put his hands behind his head. "I'm stumped," he said, slouching. "How are we supposed to get that cloud away from here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Riku grumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm beginning to wonder if we can actually go home."

''And leave Ash and I alone if there ARE more Heartless?'' Lucario shook his head. ''Not a good idea, if you ask me.''

Ash beat his fist into the sand. "If only someone could tell us what the heck is going on!" he raged. "I mean, seriously, can we get an answer here?"

"Well, why didn't you just ask that before?"

Everyone got up and spun around to face a figure robed in black. Instantly, everyone got out their Keyblades and/or got into their fighting stance. Sora grimaced. "Is this a joke? Me and Riku totaled Organization XIII!" he shouted.

The figure waggled a finger. "Yes, but I'm not FROM Organization XIII," the figure continued. "I'm from someplace completely different. And if you want these Heartless to stop coming, all you've got to do is come with me." The figure held out its gloved hand.

Sora scoffed. "Yeah, right, like I'd fall for that," he spat. "My mother told me to never go with strangers. And, believe me, you're one pretty strange person, as far as I can tell."

"What do you want here?" Riku asked.

The figure let down its arm and chuckled. "To help, that's all," it said. "Unless, you WANT to fight the reinforcements to arrive in a few minutes. I can tell you're not rested enough to pull that little trick Ashy-boy helped cook up for you, so why bother?"

Ash anger-veined. "'ASHY-BOY?'" he repeated.

The cloaked being "hmph"ed. "So what's it gonna be, guys?" it asked. "Fight another round? Or trust me?"

Lucario growled. Only to his friends, he sent, ''I can't see any aura from this person, either. I don't trust them.''

The four nodded. "We-" started Ash.

"I know where your friends are, Ash Ketchum," the figure abruptly cut in.

Ash stopped cold. "What? ...N-NO! You're LYING!" He growled and clutched his Keyblade. "That's just bait!"

The figure held up a hand, turned its palm up, and then summoned an image, globe-like. It showed, to Ash's surprise, Brock and Dawn, sleeping. "Hey, you two, wake up," the figure said.

And the two woke up. Their eyelids fluttered, and then shot open. Brock and Dawn gasped and shoved up close to the image's view. ""ASH!"" both cried.

Ash blinked, then gritted his teeth. "That's just a trick!" he said.

''Actually, Ash, this time, it's the truth.''

Ash widened his eyes and looked at Lucario. The pokémon opened his eyes, dreads falling. "What?" he asked disbelievingly.

''I can see their aura,'' he explained. ''It's some sort of trans-world window that figure is holding. I suspect it only blocks solid objects from passing through, but light, sound-even aura is another thing.''

Ash blanched, then whipped his head to the figure. "BROCK! DAWN!" he cried, and, in a moment of stupidity, ran forward.

"""ASH!""" cried the other three.

Ash stopped when he was right in front of the sphere the figure held. "Guys," he said gently. "You're alright..."

Brock and Dawn smiled, tears in their eyes. "And so are you," Dawn said back. "Where are you? I can't see anything but blackness behind you."

"I'm at a place called Destiny Islands," Ash said. "And...Oh, man, so much stuff has happened! Hey, Brock, you remember Lucario?" he asked, smiling.

Brock nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said. "Why?"

Ash grinned. "You wouldn't believe it! He's back!"

Brock gawked, and Dawn tilted her head questioningly. "Lucario? That sounds familiar..."

"Remember? When Maru asked me what adventures I've had, I mentioned him."

Dawn raised her eyebrows. "Oh, yeah!" she said, smiling. "I remember, now!"

"Uuuhhhnn...What's going on?" asked a sleepy voice from outside of view.

Brock looked and grinned. "Oh, just talking to Ash through some weird interdimensional vidphone," he said. He turned back to Ash. "Guess who else is here?"

Ash gasped when he saw who. "MISTY!"

Misty came in view, dressed in her nighties, and gasped as she saw her old friend. "Ash!" she cried. "Oh, my God! I didn't expect to see YOU!" she said. She turned and shouted, "HEY! GUYS! IT'S ASH! HE'S ALRIGHT!"

Ash blinked in surprise, then gawked as first Max, then May came in view. "Max! May! What are YOU guys doing there, too?" he asked.

"We all just fell here together," Max responded, waving. "We're alright, Ash! Don't worry! It's a bit rough, but we're fine!"

Ash was about to ask where they were when suddenly, the figure closed its hand, making the image disappear. Ash gasped, then looked up at the figure. "O-kay, visting hours are up," it said. "Now, you've gotten enough proof. Are you going to trust me, now, and follow me as I lead you far away, to the source of this darkness? Know that you shall never return once you do."

Ash first glared at it for cutting off the contact, but then thought. 'It's the best lead I've got to my friends,' he knew. 'But...can I trust this person?'

''Before you say anything, Ash, I have a question,'' Lucario said, stepping forward guardedly. ''Mystery person, am I allowed to accompany Ash if he goes with you?''

The figure nodded. "Of course you can," it said. "I was going to ask. But, sorry to say, only people who AREN'T from this world are allowed to come. Which means, of you three, only Kairi may come with." The figure pointed.

Kairi gasped, then looked to Sora and Riku. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, but no," she said. "I'm staying here, regardless of wherever you're taking Ash."

Riku stepped forward. "Ash, I still don't trust them. Aura or not, that may still have been a trick!" he said.

Ash growled and retorted, "It's the best I've got!" He clenched a fist. "I'm sorry, guys. I like you all, and I really don't trust this person, but it's all I've got. And it's all WE'VE got, unless we want to fight again."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked worriedly at each other. Then Sora nodded and looked at Ash. "Alright, Ash," he said. "It's your life. Just...in case you never come back..." He dug in his pocket. He then gasped, beginning to look in his entire array of pockets. "Where is it?" he gasped.

Kairi groaned. "You left it at home, didn't you?" she asked, anger-veining.

Sora looked distressed. "I think I did!" he cried. "Aw, nuts! Now I don't have anything to give to Ash as a good-bye present!"

Riku sighed. He put a hand in his pocket, then brought something out. He tossed it to Ash. "Well, at least you can have mine," he said.

Ash caught it, then looked at it. It appeared to be a multi-colored, rubbery rock of some sort. "What is it?" he asked.

"Something you should hang onto," Riku answered. "Trust me, you're going to find out what it is. I'm getting that feeling." He smiled. "Just don't do anything too amazingly stupid, alright?"

Ash smiled, then nodded, putting the stone in a pocket. "I'll try," he said.

Sora and Kairi sighed in unison. "Well, Ash, good-bye, then," Sora said, giving a helpless smile and waving. "It's been fun. Keep up the swordfighting!"

"And please, if you find your friends," Kairi said, "tell them that I say hi! And just know that we'll miss you and Lucario!"

Ash smiled, nodding. "Thanks! I will!" he shouted back. Tears started streaming from his eyes. "I'll never forget you! I promise! And I always live up to my word!" He waved.

The three waved back, saying goodbye. Lucario said goodbye as well, then the two turned to the figure. ''We're ready,'' he said.

"Good," the figure replied. It put a hand on a shoulder on each of them. Then, all was dark.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi watched as the three were enveloped in darkness. "They're never coming back," Sora whispered. He sighed. "He was a great guy, too. Both of them were."

"I know," Riku said. "But he's got his own fate to meet. I guess we're just here to start him on his way."

Kairi frowned. "I really will miss him," she said. "He's a bit dorky, but he's cool, in his own way."

Then, all around them, Heartless began to reappear. The three watched the spot Ash and Lucario had occupied for a few more seconds, then turned to face their new threats. "We'll never forget you, either, Ash," Sora said under his breath, and the three charged off.

*****OBTAINED Navi-G*****

When Ash and Lucario could see something again, it was still dark. "Where are we?" Ash asked.

"At the source of the problem," answered the figure. It walked around them and forward. "You're currently standing inside the black cloud hanging above Destiny Islands." It stopped and turned. "Here, you're going to have the chance to stop the neverending invasions that will plague this world to no end. To do so, you must first destroy the five main pillars of darkness hidden in the cloud. Then, you must save yourselves as you fall through the gaping portal into unstopping chaos and defeat the beast within. However...you cannot destroy the beast. You must best it, while keeping it alive. But if it remains a foe, you can't escape. And with that, I part with you." Then, with an abrupt change of character, the figure put a finger to its face under the hood and twisted it as if twisting a dimple. "Have a nice day!" it said in a happy voice. Then, it vanished in a cloud of darkness.

Ash and Lucario blinked at this last bit, but shook their heads, looking around them. Their eyes had become used to the darkness, and they could see they were, indeed, standing on clouds. Around them, they heard a writhing sound. The two turned and saw masses of Heartless around them.

Ash looked to Lucario, Lucario looked to Ash. The two nodded. "I'll go that way, you go this way," Ash said.

''Roger.''

And the two shot off, running pell-mell and disregarding any Heartless around them completely.

Ash went off, finding that there was a few rooms separated by walls of darkness inside this cloud. He went and searched, ignoring all the Heartless swarming around him. "Come on, a pillar of darkness," he muttered, looking left and right. "This'd be a LOT easier if I had a light!" He grumbled about how he lost his flashlight on the way there, then wandered about, looking for anything pillar-shaped.

After a couple of large rooms, he found something. It was a big black pillar, so dark that he could see it easilly among the black and very dark violet and blue around him. "There!" He ran forth, then saw a big Heartless rise up to guard it. It was enormously fat, and was also very thick-armed. It looked at Ash, then pounded its round front. Instantly, spikes came out, and, with amazing speed, dashed to Ash.

"YIKES! That looks like a really cranky Snorlax, which is bad enough without the spikes!" Ash said, diving out of the way.

Meanwhile, Lucario had found his first pillar. ''Alright,'' he thought, and stopped a good distance away. He readied his Aura Sphere. ''This is kind of easy,'' he muttered, then saw a figure rise up in front of him. It was the same kind as Ash's enemy. ''D'oh!'' Lucario jumped up and over the beast, then launched his Aura Sphere behind it. It hit. ''Hit it from behind-''

"-Sounds easy enough!" Ash said, after whacking the thing on the back. He charged forward, then gulped as it turned and did so. However, he felt the chance for a Reaction Command come right before contact. At the last second, Ash leapt to the side, grabbing and arm, and dug himself into the cloud while he grabbed the beast with both arms, holding his Keyblade in his mouth. He spun it around, then sent it flying right at the pillar. The Heartless hit the pillar, and it wavered a little. Ash ran over and quickly launched a three-hit combo on the poly Heartless before it got up. It soon did, turned, and tried whacking Ash. He rolled to the side and around, jumping up and spinning, much like Link's Back Slice attack; another Reaction Command. He landed another three-hit combo and ran before it attacked again.

Lucario employed a different strategy. He first waited by the pillar, then jumped out of the way when the big galoot came at him. The blockhead hit the pillar, causing damage to it, and Lucario, now behind it, had the chance to launch his Aura Sphere, which he'd been charging. It struck again. He landed and waited for the thing to charge again. It did-right through the pillar, which now thinned a bit-and Lucario dashed out of the way, spinning and throwing a kick at it. He then ran back to the pillar and repeated this. ''I usually don't mock my enemies, but seriously, how thick can you get?'' he mused aloud, shaking his head. He jumped and fired again.

Ash finally had the Heartless. With one more finisher, the Heartless disappeared, releasing a heart as it did. Ash raised his eyebrows at this, but then went back to the pillar. He bashed it with the Keyblade until it thinned down to nothing. He was certain he'd done it when the cloud around suddenly lost its darkness. Instead, he was now standing in a normal white cloud.

**-'-,-'-**

"LOOK!"

Sora and Riku glanced to where Kairi was pointing, and gasped. A section of the black cloud changed from black to white. "That cloak person was telling the truth?" Sora squaked.

"Well, then, that's just great," Riku grumbled, then laughed. "But it looks like Lucario is doing fine!"

"Don't forget Ash!" Kairi reminded him. She gasped as another segment became white. "What are they DOING up there?" she wondered.

"Hey, look!" Sora said, looking around. Some of the Heartless had begun to vanish on their own, fading in a pool of blackness. "The more of the cloud that becomes white, the less Heartless we have to deal with!"

Kairi and Riku joined with his grin. Together, they looked up and shouted, """GO, GUYS!"""

**-'-,-'-**

Lucario finished his pillar and was surprised when he found he was standing on normal cloud. ''Yeah, it's cloud, all right,'' he said. ''I remember when I decided to stick my head in a low-hanging one once...My feet are getting wet, and I'd better move it, or the magic holding this together is going to fade!'' He dashed to the next dark section. He worked his way until he found another dark pillar. Another rotund Heartless stood in his way. ''Yay, another moron!'' he grumbled. ''You probably don't leave mere bruises, but you're not that bright. And, in the name of destroying you pests and preventing the loss of another world, I'll just have to exploit that weakness.''

Ash had advanced to his next one, which he was now getting the hang of fighting. He'd gotten hit by the one before, and it had hurt like the dickens. He decided that it was better to try and stay OUT of harm's way. He Reacted and attacked the beast, using his tried-and-true combo attack each time. "Phew!" he breathed, mopping his brow, after he saw the Heartless give up its captive heart. "I wonder how many more I have to fight..." He took a big breath and breathed it out again, calming himself the zen way. Then he went and destroyed the pillar.

''"Two down,"'' the fighters said, then both got off their respective clouds. Finally, the three met each other again in the room they began inside. They each gave their pillar count, then looked around. ''There!'' Lucario cried, pointing. ''We must not have seen it since it was so dark!''

Indeed, the more pillars they destroyed, the ligher it got. The less darkness around them, the more moonlit sky could shine from above through the ceiling of the cloud. The two went to the pillar, then stopped as TWO big Heartless appeared. They both nodded to each other, then began their own strategies again.

Finally, both Heartless, after a wild time(including Ash throwing his at Lucario's sometimes), disappeared. The half-strength pillar was then assulted by Ash and Lucario's moves. Then, in a flash that seemed to slow down time for a second, Ash gave the final strike. When the moment passed, Ash and Lucario looked around, watching as black became white again.

And then, all hell broke loose.

Well, alright, the cloud became a truly normal cloud, and so Ash and Lucario plummeted to their doom. Ash splatted against the water and died a gruesome death. The end. *dodges another chalkboard eraser* I jest! I jest! They instead plummeted to...the ocean below.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi, island now finally free of Heartless, shouted the two's names as they dropped. Suddenly, though, a giant, black portal opened up, sucking down both the Pokémon worlders and the cloud. And then, the portal disappearing, there was only the three Keybladers on their moonbathed island.

**-'-,-'-**

"WWWAAOOOAAAAAUUGH!" Ash screamed, careening downwards through a dark tunnel.

''Let's just hope that we'll have a soft landing!'' Lucario winced, braver than Ash in falling but still wary of ending up a black and blue pancake. He looked to Ash. ''We're going to be falling a while, so get used to the feeling,'' he told him, the screaming getting on his nerves.

Ash gulped and grimaced. "Alright," he said. He looked around him. "I guess this is where that figure said we'd go," he shrugged.

Lucario nodded. ''Who will we have to fight?'' he wondered. ''Or what, actually.''

Ash shrugged, then both froze as they heard a FWOOM sound. Ash and Lucario turned to look "down," since they were having a hard time figuring out where they were falling sometimes, and saw a figure come out from the "walls" of the tunnel. They blinked in wonder at it as it approached.

It was colored white and silver. It appeared to bear three, knobby, odd legs. A few antennae-like things stuck out from it, each ending in what appeared to be a leaf. Two of these "leaves" were red, and one on either side of these had a familiar symbol on it. Ash would recognize it later when he would get a closer look at it. It appeared about the height of Ash's shin.

Ash blinked in wonder. "That's the weirdest Heartless I've ever seen," he muttered. Then he thought of something. "Wait, that's not a Heartless! Heartless are dark colors. That's...That's a Nobody!"

Lucario raised an eyebrow. ''Really, now? Then this might prove interesting...''

The creature came up close, then shot out five vines from its body. These vines went and stuck into the sides of the tunnel. This slowed it down enough that it could fall at the same speed, about, as Ash and Lucario. Then, it began the attack.

First, the tree-like creature sent out leaves colored white. Lucario and Ash batted these away. It sent these in a spray, aiming back and forth as it did. Then, it fell back a bit, waited, then launched itself forwards, to the two fighters.

Ash and Lucario waited until the last moment, until Ash said, "SPIN TO THE SIDE!" The two did so, doing the technique Ash used against the massive Nobody in his dream. After they did, avoiding contact with the creature, they stopped and turned to it. It now hung by them. "Get it!" Ash cried.

The two tried to get there, but they couldn't...until the Nobody lashed out with its vines again. The two grunted in pain as they were first whipped, then grabbed and pulled close to the thing. Ash and Lucario squirmed and struggled, and thankfully, found that they could easilly break free. They did so, then began attacking finally. Ash whacked with his Keyblade, while Lucario just fought. Ash was glad he'd discovered a three-hit aerial attack in his dream, as it served well here. They had to be careful to avoid getting struck by the vines that it lashed around, though.

Finally, the creature stopped itself against the walls of the tunnel, starting to rise. ''Oh, no, you don't!'' Lucario growled, and grabbed it and latched on as best he could before it went. While grabbing it, the pokémon repeatedly kicked and bit at it as it went up. The Nobody made no efforts to shake him off, it appeared, until suddenly, Lucario EXPLODED off of it! ''"AAAUUGGH!"'' he cried, both psychically and verbally, as he fell. His arms and a bit of his chest were smoking a little.

"LUCARIO!" Ash cried, and, starting to get an idea of how to move around here, leaned over to try and curve the air around him to move him. It worked, and he grabbed Lucario as he fell to him. "Are you alright? What happened?" he asked.

Lucario grunted and panted a little, wincing at his pain. ''I was just holding onto it, attacking, when suddenly, it felt like the places my body had held onto it burst in flames, pushing me off. Like it used Explosion, but only on the places I grabbed it...'' He shook his head. ''I guess that if we grab hold of it, we can't hold on for long.''

Ash nodded. "Right." He let go of his friend and the two faced the Nobody above them. It, now stopped in relation to them, began raining down hard seeds at a high speed. Ash gasped. "That looks like Bullet Seed!" he muttered, the two dodging them. However, the attack was pretty randomly sprayed from the branches of the Nobody, and Ash and Lucario were hit pretty bad a few times. (And nobody could heal them, since neither had any potions or knew Cure!)

Ash growled. "I can't feel any chances in the Keyblade, though I might have a few ideas," he stated. "I think this is just going to have to be plain old fighting."

Lucario nodded. ''Then you know what? I'm going to try and shoot it right back!'' he growled, and charged up Aura Sphere as the creature fell to them after pulling itself down to them. He released as soon as he could, which was right before it came over to striking range for Ash. The splash damage caused Lucario to grunt and brace himself, flying back.

Suddenly, with a vine, the Nobody grabbed Lucario and slammed him against the wall of the tunnel. The pokémon let out a cry of pain as it first hit, then ground against the moving wall. "LUCARIO!" Ash cried, then was grabbed himself. He was nearly slammed, but with a quick thought, he whacked the vine holding him. It stopped, and Ash used the still-outstretched vine to pull himself along, going in boosts to avoid exploding. He didn't notice the fine dust that appeared on his palms. He tried to get to Lucario, but the creature had released him by the time he'd gotten close to it.

Lucario grunted, falling slowly forward and onto his face if there was ground below. ''S...Sir Aaron...'' he muttered, fading out. He was then limp, falling like a ragdoll.

"LUCARIOOO!" Ash screamed, reaching for his friend, but then, he had to scream in pain, since his hands suddenly exploded. "AAAAUGH!" He was thrown back a little, dropping the Keyblade. He shook his head and got back his focus, though, and reached for the Keyblade. Magically, it came back to his hand, like a magnet. "I guess if you grab it at all, it makes whatever you grabbed it with explode," he mumbled. He lashed out and whacked it a few times before it launched down again.

Then, Ash had to avoid the leaves again, blocking any he could, but getting hit by some. Lucario's body was, mysteriously, ignored. 'It must be because he doesn't pose a threat anymore,' Ash rationalized as the Nobody launched itself up again. As soon as it began, Ash navigated himself, with some difficulty, to the center of the tunnel, where it came from. He began to attack immediately as soon as it was near enough, rage for the thing hurting his friend fueling him. "Whatever-you-are-you-big-jerk-I-won't-let-you-get-away-with-hurting-Lucario!" he said as he struck in a frenzy, saving his finishing move for "Lucario!"

This state of constant attack somehow batted away the vines coming at him as well, and then, when the Nobody lifted up, Ash gritted his teeth and reeled back his hand, about to launch the Keyblade. He noticed, then, that the red eyes were now pale, and the creature moved bedraggledly, as if tired. 'Nobodies get tired?' Ash wondered.

Then, suddenly, he felt something happen to his Keyblade. "Huh?" He looked and gasped as it glowed, going translucent before fading away from his grasp. As soon as it faded, a light appeared to come from one of his cargo pockets. He yelped in surprise as he felt something press against his leg there. He reached down and into it, groping, keeping an eye on the Nobody slowly rising above him. He widened his eyes when he touched something round. Instantly, he pulled it out and gaped.

There, in his hand, was a pokéball, minimized at the moment for easy carrying.

He looked between it, the Nobody, and it again. "There's no way..." he muttered. Then he remembered what the figure had said about the foe they'd have to fight. "We have to fight it, but not destroy it, and as long as it remains, we cannot escape!" he recalled, eyes glazing in wonder. "That person meant that we have to CATCH it!" He looked up, wondering look on his face, at the Nobody. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "It's on its last legs...It's time for me to capture it!" he decided.

Then, hat already turned 180 around his head from before, Ash maximized the ball, hearing the same classic sound he knew and loved as it did. He then held onto it hard while dodging the Bullet Seed attack. As the Nobody tiredly pushed itself down after him again, Ash reeled back. "Pokéball..." When the creature was close enough, he let fly, causing his falling body to spin around. "...GOOOO!"

Lucario had just started waking up, then, and saw Ash throw the ball. He blinked his eyes open and looked at the Nobody. ''What in-?''

The ball screamed towards the Nobody, light following it as it spun. The Nobody got struck by it, and the ball, turning around to face its prey like always, opened up. Instead of bursting in red light, it burst in a white flash. Then, in a beam of white light, the Nobody got sucked inside. The ball then snapped shut, capturing its prey, and began to fall again.

As it fell, slowly, it began to shake, like normal. Ash silently clenched his fists and pursed his lips, praying in his mind for the capture to be successful.

Lucario just watched in awe as the ball shook around in midair.

For a solid ten seconds, the ball wiggled, the red light on the button of the ball glowing. Then, finally, it stopped, the light fading, emitting the familiar soft "Puuun" of a capture. Ash gasped, then grinned and pumped his arm in joy. "I DID IT!" he cried, and reached up for the falling ball. It slowly fell into his outstretched hand, which clapsed it instantly. Ash spun around. "I caught..." He stopped, holding the ball up skyward. "...A NOBODY!" He grinned, happy he'd caught SOMEthing. "As weird as it is!" he added, and Lucario laughed. Ash gasped and looked over. "Lucario! You're alive?"

Lucario nodded. ''Yes, I was merely knocked unconscious,'' he explained. He smiled a little worriedly. ''A Nobody...How the HECK did you pull THAT off?'' He crossed his arms.

Ash shrugged. "The Keyblade suddenly faded away and-" He was cut off by a light emitting from the pokéball. He squaked and looked at it as it released something without opening...A siver vapor appeared to fall away from it. Ash then noticed something different about the ball. Coming from the button was a symbol that looked like a keyhole. Ash gaped in awe at it. "What kind of ball _is_ this?" he asked softly.

Lucario watched as the vapor vanished. ''What...why...?'' he wondered.

Ash shrugged, minimizing the ball and, after a pause, put it on his belt. "Anyway, the Keyblade vanished, and-" THIS time, he was cut off by a gasp. He quickly willed the Keyblade to appear in his hand, and then breathed an immense sigh of relief as it complied. "PHEW! I thought I'd lost that thing!" he said, dismissing it. (Earlier, when he'd dismissed it before searching, Sora had reminded him to dismiss it by willing it to go.) He chuckled a little, then cleared his throat. "When the Keyblade went away, I felt something in my pocket and saw a light appear from it. I reached in and pulled out a pokéball. I think the Keyblade made it or something." He shrugged. "I dunno, but hey, at least I've got someone to train again!" He then let his face fall. "I just hope that my other pokémon are alright..."

''They are, Ash, don't worry,'' Lucario assured him. ''Their balls...er, pokéballs, I mean! They were just taken away, right?...Alright, so then, that means there's a good chance they're alright.'' He nodded to himself, Ash smiling a little again.

Ash smiled up at him, then looked around. "Sooooo...What do we do now?" he asked, looking around.

Lucario shrugged, then gasped as a light suddenly blinded them, coming from the "down" end of the tunnel. ''I think that's you answer!'' he replied, sheilding his eyes, and the two fell into the light. At some point, they lost consciousness, fading out in white light.

Believe me, I was worried as heck that I'd written myself into a corner when I decided to create that Limit attack. By the way, could you please add in your comments, if you have any to post, if you liked my Limit I made?

Thank you so much for reading all five of my chapters for this story. You'll have to live with this 'til I get that effin' laptop, and for that, I'm deeply sorry. I WANT to get Mewtwo's story DONE, and done BEFORE the drive to write it leaves me, leaving me writing-wise how I currently am for my original story, Wildale Glades. I just hope that seeing anything KH-related spurrs me into writing, since I greatly love writing fanfiction for KH and Pokémon, since I'm able to get out of my head my wildest fantasies. I'll be having Ash and Lucario, as well as one other person, travel to worlds, like Maru, Elliot, and Figment do, but to mostly different ones. However, I've got a bit of writer's block on that.

**Note: **While I originally asked for help on worlds, I am at the point where I think I'm pretty much good, now. Thank you all for the suggestions, but I'm fine, now. Thank you, though.

Until later,

-FerreTrip


	6. 02: FFTA Approved

**Bit 2(FINALLY!): (Prelude)**

Ash groaned as he opened his eyes. He blinked them a few times, then shook his head. "Aaagh...Man, what happened?" he asked as he sat up, holding his head. He noticed his hat was still backwards, so he turned it back. He looked around and saw he was in an alleyway somewhere. It appeared to be night above.

''Uuuuhnn...'' Lucario shook his head as he sat up. Ash looked and saw he was lying a little ways away from him. The pokémon blinked his eyes open, then looked around. ''Ash? Where are we?'' he asked.

Ash shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said. He stood up and stretched. "We must've been out for a while, I feel kinda sore."

Lucario shook his head and stood up. ''I sense we have been unconscious for only a couple of hours,'' he said. He walked over and stood by Ash. He smirked. ''So, how does it feel to fight alongside a pokémon instead of commanding one?'' he asked. ''Exciting, no?''

Ash, caught a little bit by the question, nonetheless smiled. He nodded. "Yeah, it's great, like nothing I've ever felt before," he said. "If I don't end up getting tired of this by the time we get back to our world, I'm sure I'll miss fighting with my friends like this." He walked forwards a little. "C'mon, let's see where it is we've ended up, huh?"

Lucario nodded, then padded alongside Ash.

Together, the two rounded a corner and found themselves looking at a quaint, lamplit square of sorts. A big hat was seen sitting somewhere, with what looked like a big tounge, to their right, between two staircases. To their left lay an enormous pair of doors, reminiscent to Ash of New Island. The two walked out and looked as some people walked about the streets, doing this and that.

After a silent agreement, the two went and looked for someone to ask where they were. While deciding what to say and who to ask, the two heard a small voice say, "Hello?" They turned and found a little furry creature in a green shirt and having small wings and a red, fuzzy, ball-shaped antenna-like thing. It had tan fur and blonde hair. In one arm it carried with a book. It looked up quizzically at them. "You two seem lost, kupo," it said. "Are you?"

Ash and Lucario blinked a little at this, both not used to hearing human speech come from nonhuman mouthes, then nodded.

The creature looked them up and down. It smiled. "You're not from around here, are you, kupo?" Ash and Lucario shook their heads. "I didn't think so. With those lost faces, kupo, I'd say you're new arrivals, huh?"

Ash blinked. "'New arrivals?'" he repeated.

The creature nodded. "From a different world, kupo!" it squeaked.

Ash and Lucario nodded. ''Yes, we are,'' Lucario said. ''Could you please tell us where we are?''

The fuzzy thing smiled and put an arm out, turning. "Welcome to Traverse Town, kupo!" it answered. "The place where all who lost their worlds end up!"

**Bit 2: Traverse Town**

Ash and Lucario found out that the creature, called a moogle, was a young man named Montblanc, who was currently working on becoming a good black mage. He led the two up to the shop at the top of the stairs. Inside, they found another moogle manning a counter, so small that he had to sit on top. He wore a cute hat.

"Nono!" Montblanc greeted as he entered the shop. "How're things going, kupo?"

Nono jerked up his head as the other moogle entered. "Oh, hi, kupo!" he replied, smiling and waving. "Kinda slow today, kupo. I'm getting a little sleepy!"

Montblanc waggled a little finger. "No, no, Nono, don't fall asleep when you could have potential customers, kupo," he admonished. He held out his arm to indicate Ash and Lucario. "I found these two wandering around, lost," he said. "They're new arrivals, kupo!"

Nono smiled and nodded his head. "Welcome to Traverse Town, kupo!" he greeted. "I'm Nono, apprentice machinist and the person who mans this shop in the absense of another, very talented machinist, named Cid, kupo!" He tilted his head. "He's named just like the Judgemaster, actually, kupo. I find that weird."

Ash smiled. "Well, I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallat Town," he introduced. "This is my friend, Lucario." He motioned with his hand to the pokémon, who greeted the moogle.

Nono raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oooh, one of those people who speak with their minds, kupo!" he observed, impressed. "But anyway, come in, kupo! We've got some tea being made by some other moogles, and you're welcome to have some, if you'd like, kupo."

Ash smiled and nodded. "That'd be very nice, thank you," he politely said. "I'm actually feeling a little hungry..." He then frowned and seached his pockets, then his bag. He sighed. "I'm afraid we've got no money, however, so we can't pay for food."

Nono waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. "Naw, kupo! You don't have to pay anything! You've just gotten here, so I don't expect you to already have munny with you, kupo!" he said. He motioned to a table. "Sit down, you must be confused regarding what happened, kupo."

Ash and Lucario nodded, then sat down at the table. "Actually, I think I know the idea of what happened," Ash said. "There are these creatures called Heartless who steal not just peoples' hearts, but worlds' hearts, too. They stole my world's heart, but for some reason I ended up somewhere else first. Then me and Lucario ended up here after destroying this black cloud thing that made the Heartless appear on that world. It's a kinda long story," he said, giving his "sorry!" face.

Montblanc, who was at a door and seeing how the tea was coming, poked his head out and said, "That's alright, kupo! You don't have to tell us the whole story if you don't want to," then peeked back in. A second later, he peeked back out and announced, "The tea's ready, kupo!"

A few seconds later, he and a few more moogles-who looked a lot more like white bears with red antennae and wings than the well-detailed creatures Montblanc and Nono were-came down, carrying a tray with some cups and a plate of rice balls. They set it on the table, then the other moogles left and got back to work doing whatever it was they did.

Ash and Lucario drank tea peacefully, eating the rice balls thankfully, while Montblanc and Nono talked to them about the town, the Heartless, and if they wanted to know if anyone else ended up there.

Ash nodded, gulping his tea quickly. "Yeah!" he said, putting his cup down. "Do you remember seeing at all a tall, sort of tannish-skinned guy with spikey hair in a vest? Or a girl in a red scarf, a white hat, blue hair, and a miniskirt? Or-" He went on to describe the features of Brock, Dawn, Misty, May, and Max. He panted and took some tea after he said all this pretty fast.

Montblanc and Nono looked at each other, eyebrows drawing together, before they shook their heads. "No, kupo...We're sorry," Montblanc replied. "We haven't gotten as many people as we're used to ever since a whole bunch of people from here decided to move to Radient Garden and make it another place you go when your world is taken away, kupo."

''Radient Garden?'' Lucario asked. ''Another world?''

Nono nodded. "Yup! It used to be called Hollow Bastion before this guy named Sora helped out with restoring it, kupo," he said.

Ash and Lucario raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. "Well, he DID keep dropping hints as to how he's gotten around," Ash mumbled. They turned back and smiled. "Well, that's alright, I can find my friends somewhere else," he said.

Montblanc nodded. "Yeah, but you're going to need something called a Gummi ship if you want to get anywhere, kupo," the moogle said, holding up a finger. "The only person who knows how to make them and how they work right now is my brother, Nono. He's very good, too, kupo." Montblanc smiled and looked at Nono.

Nono started, then blushed. "Well, ahh, I'm n-not that good, but..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Could you please make us a Gummi ship, Nono?" he asked, a little fervently.

Nono blinked, then sadly shook his head. "For that, I'm going to have to ask for munny, kupo," he said. "And besides, we don't have that much material to make them. I'm sorry, kupo..."

Ash sighed, but smiled sadly back and said it was okay. Lucario tilted his head. ''Have there been any people coming here who carry around creatures inside red and white balls?'' he asked.

Montblanc and Nono tilted their heads, looking up as they thougt. Then Montblanc shrugged. "I think I remember seeing one or two, but I don't know for sure, kupo," he said. He smiled. "If you want, you can check with my friends here with me, kupo! They might know!"

Ash and Lucario smiled, looking at each other. They nodded. "Thanks, Montblanc," Ash said, giving his determined-Ash face. "If there are people like that, they're probably from my world. If that's the case, me and Lucario, as well as this creature I just caught, maybe, can find a way to earn money, like by battling to perform or something!" He grinned, looking up in thought. "Heh, reminds me of the times I entered Contests!"

Lucario nodded. ''We could then use the money to buy a ship, if you get enough supplies,'' he said, looking at Nono.

Nono nodded back, smiling. "I'll do my best to get more Gummi blocks, kupo!" he promised.

Montblanc got up. "Well, let's go, kupo!" he said, and hopped down from the chair.

Ash and Lucario rose, then bowed to Nono. "Thank you for the tea and rice balls," Ash thanked.

''We really needed it,'' Lucario added. He bowed a little more westernly, instead of Ash's Japanese bow, because of his knight-like lifestyle from previous.

Nono smiled and nodded. "That's okay, kupo!" he said. "Just drop by anytime to pick up any items you might want!"

"We will," Ash said, waving as the three left.

Montblanc led them to a shop inside one district of Traverse Town that appeared to be a restraunt of sorts. The sign outside said "The Crooked Crossroads." Montblanc said it was a pub. Indeed, people inside were drinking from mugs of foamy amber liquid that 4Kids would dismiss as juice, soda pop, or root beer floats. Ash, though, knew what it was and wondered what kind of friends Montblanc had. The moogle looked at his slightly perturbed face and laughed. "Don't worry, kupo! You don't have to order anything or be scared at all! They keep things pretty in control here, kupo." He led the two down a couple steps to a lower area where a group of people sat, talking and drinking what was either near-flat beer or soda. "Hello, everyone, kupo!" Montblanc called as he got near.

The group turned. It consisted of four humans-three boys and one girl-two rabbit-like female creatures, a lizard-like thing, and three pale-skinned, long-eared creatures. The lizard was dressed in armor that made it look like a dragon a little bit. One of the pale creatures was dressed in a dark outfit with a bandana. One of the rabbit-like girls wore a cloth over her nose and mouth and a black turban, looking sort of like a ninja.

One of the boys, a blue-shirted, red-pantsed, and blonde-haired boy whith an amazing cowlip, smiled and waved. "Montblanc! Hi!" he said. He motioned to Ash and Lucario. "New friends?"

Montblanc nodded. "Yup, kupo!" he said, and held an arm out to them. "The human's named Ash, and his friend's called Lucario, kupo!"

Ash smiled and said hello, while Lucario just bowed and greeted them.

Seemingly unsurprised at the telepathy, the boy smiled and nodded back. "Hey. New here?" he asked. He got nods in response. "I see. Well, anyway, my name's Marche. This, plus Montblanc, is what remains of my clan and Ritz' clan." The girl, wearing red and bearing long, beautiful, pink hair, waved. Beside her, a green-dressed rabbit-girl with white hair nodded. She had a topaz armband on. Marche then motioned to everyone else. "Ritz' friend there is Shara. She and Loraine," he pointed to the black-clothed one, "are Veria. The only Bangaa surviving from my clan, Guin," he pointed to the armored lizard, pronouncing his name "GEW-in," "is one of our strongest members. That's Grandi, and he's very good in magic," he pointed to the bandana-wearing creature. "Next to him are Ezel-the one with the cool hat-and Babus, the one in the white robe. They're all three Nu Mou, and great friends. Ezel and Babus aren't officially from either Ritz' or my clans, but they tagged along with us." He motioned to the other two humans. One was a short, brown-haired boy. Marche smiled. "This is my little brother, Doned. He's not in any clan, either, but I'm glad he's still here." Doned smiled and bowed. "Finally, we've got our other friend, who Babus is a sort of bodyguard for, Mewt." He motioned to a curly-haired kid whose hair was currently dressed, sort of uglily, into two horns. He held a teddy bear close to his body and looked sort of bored.

Ash said hello to everyone. Montblanc said, "Ash and Lucario were wondering something, kupo. Have you seen any people lately who've been seen using creatures that come out of red and white balls, kupo?"

Marche raised an eyebrow. "Sounds familiar," he said.

"Wait, what?" Ritz asked, stepping forward. "What kind of balls, again?"

Ash got his pokéball out from his belt and maximized it. "Like this," he said, "only without the keyhole picture on it. Some people use balls that are different, but have the same basic look and work the same way. The red and white halves open up from this black part, and they open up and let something out in a beam of red light. I'd...rather not show you what's inside mine at the moment, frankly," he said, minimizing it and putting it back.

Ritz snapped her fingers. "I thought so," she said. "Yeah, a ton of those kinds of people have arrived. So many from the same world, in fact, they've been even given their own district!"

"Actually," Shara said, smiling wryly, "it's because they sic those things on each other and make them fight. It's really quite a show, but a few of them don't know what they're doing all the time and end up making a mess." She shrugged. "It's fun to watch sometimes, but I don't get why they spend so much time doing that stuff."

Ash gave his Ash face. "It's because we're trainers," he told her. "We train creatures called pokémon to fight, then battle other trainers' pokémon with ours. There's something called the Pokémon League in our world, where trainers compete to see who gets to be in the Championships and challange the best trainers around!" He chuckled. "It's awesome! But...Wait a minute," he realized, "there aren't any Centers here, are there?"

The others looked confused, and Ash sighed. He then raised his eyebrows. "Have you seen anyone dressed like a nurse, with pink hair that's clipped in two rings?" he asked.

At this, Doned answered, "Yeah!" He smiled. "She's a really nice lady," he described. "Her name's Nurse Joy! She says she's from the same place as those other guys you were talking about! She says she takes care of their...uh...pokémon, right?" he asked, new to the word.

Ash nodded, wiping his forehead in releif. "Yeah, phew! I was worried people were battling without a place to take their injured pokémon," he murmured. "Pokémon are just like any other kind of person, with their own likes, dislikes, and personalities. Just because we trainers use them to fight doesn't mean we should treat them like they're just weapons. If they get hurt, it's a trainer's responsibility to take care of their pokémon and get them some medical help as soon as possible." He crossed his arms while he spoke. "It's all about being humane."

Marche smiled. "Well, I guess you learn something new every day," he said, laughing a little. "But anyway, is that all?" he asked Montblanc.

The moogle nodded. "Thank you for telling us about the people Ash and Lucario want, kupo!" he said. Then he tilted his head and looked curious. "What were you guys talking about before, kupo?"

Marche's expression went a little grave. "About some trouble we've heard starting up around here," he answered. "It seems a few of those Heartless have turned up here, too."

"Where?" Ash asked, suddenly alert. The others looked at him and saw he was looking serious, and a little vehement in it. "They stole my world, too, and I'm not very happy with them."

Marche beckoned the two over, then turned back to a map they had spread out on the table. He pointed to a district. "Here, this is where the sightings have occured. If they get too bad, we'll have to bring out our old stuff and fend them off. After I spoke with some of the people here, I found out that this world is safe from disappearing, but that doesn't mean its people are. The Heartless still might try and steal people's hearts, and seeing as that makes that person essentially dead, almost, that's not a good thing."

Ritz nodded, agreeing. "This place is supposed to be a haven for those who've lost their world," she said, crossing her arms. "It's just not fair if the Heartless come and steal their hearts, anyway. It's bad enough they have to be here instead of their rightful homes."

Montblanc frowned. "So we should head over there, kupo?" he asked.

Marche nodded. "Yeah, someone should stay there in case something happens. The problem is, there's a whole lot of districts that can't be guarded all the time. We'd have to split up, and, though we're all pretty strong, there'd just be too many at once."

"And some of us can't even fight," reminded Doned. "I'm just a little kid!"

Marche looked sorrilly at his little brother. "I know, Doned, I know," he said. "If only those other guys were here...Gah."

"If we knew where the Heartless were going to come, things would be a lot easier," Shara sighed. "We could just head there and wait to bum rush them."

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ''Do any of you have the power to see the aura latent in all things?'' he asked. ''They're also known as waves, to some.''

They looked at each other, then shrugged. "Sorry, can't say we can," Ezel said, sort of drawling.

''Then, at least while Ash and I are here, I will assist in any way I possibly can,'' the pokémon said, bowing a bit. ''Although they have been severely weakened, I have abilities regarding aura, including the ability to see waves. When I try and see them when Heartless are nearby, I see none. Whenever Heartless are about to arrive, the place they're coming loses its aura, or it's masked from my view. Unless you can sense darkness, I doubt you can rely on anything apart from your five basic senses to detect them. As long as this entire world's aura is not down, I will be able to find where a place the Heartless are about to arrive in is.''

The group brightened considerably. "Wow, Lucario, that's great!" Marche said. "Thanks for offering to help!"

''It is my duty,'' he replied modestly, bowing slightly again. ''I pledged my life to protect my home in my world, and that included protecting the innocent. No matter what, I shall keep that pledge and do whatever I can to stop this menace from harming anyone more.''

Marche nodded. "What about you, Ash?" he asked. "Can you do anything to help?"

Ash nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah, but I'm not the best fighter," he admitted. "I can fight, but not that well on my own. I'm better at commanding pokémon. But I do have a unique weapon with me that's strong against the Heartless," he added.

Marche raised his eyebrows. "That's okay, as long as you can hold your own enough to at least provide a distraction until someone comes to help." He looked at the map. "I take it you're going to hang out with the other people from your world, right?" he asked.

Ash nodded, and Ritz pointed to a district that appeared to be nearby the one they were in at current. "Then here's where you'll want to go," she said. "And you should stick around and keep an eye on things. Who knows if you'll need to fend off Heartless again?"

"Well, pokémon attacks DO work against Heartless," Ash pointed out. "If there's enough trainers there, that district might be a pretty safe place."

After Ash said this, Ritz looked like she had an idea. "HOW good are pokémon attacks against Heartless?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not that sure yet on how good they are, but I know that they work," Ash replied. "And if pokémon know normal fighting moves, like Lucario does-yeah, he's a pokémon himself-that also works."

''So far, I have not fought against enough different Heartless using different moves to determine which type is best,'' the pokémon stated, then continued before any confused looks appeared. ''Oh, Ash forgot to mention, there are many types of pokémon and moves they use. One is good against another, while one could also be bad against yet another. As far as I can tell, so far, when a pokémon fights anything or anyone that has special abilities, the same rules apply.''

"For example, if a Heartless manages to use a darkness-based attack," Ash said, "and it hits Lucario, it won't do that much damage if it turns out to be like a Dark-type attack. Lucario's part-Fighting-part-Steel, making him take very little damage from Dark-type attacks because they're not very effective against both his types. And if Heartless end up being Dark-type themselves, sorta, then Lucario's Fighting-type moves will be super-effective, causing more damage than if Heartless were something else." He grinned. "It's this type-trumping system that us trainers use as a major factor in deciding matches."

Ritz nodded thoughtfully. "Hmmm...I've got an idea," she said. "Ash, you're a trainer, right? Well, why not you go and ask the other trainers to help out around here by being a sort of guard for the town using their pokémon?" she suggested. "That way, whenever those Heartless attack and Lucario isn't with us to help predict where they are, the trainers, stationed around the town, could keep them at bay while some of us come in and take care of them."

Ash widened his eyes. "That's a really good idea!" he said, impressed. He gave his assertive face and nodded. "Okay, I'll ask them to help out!" he agreed. "And maybe, then, the trainers can report their observations on how pokémon attacks work on Heartless, which you could put together in some sort of reference guide." 'Like a Pokédex!'

The others agreed, and some more talk went on with how to do it. It was decided that Ash would go and talk to the trainers, asking them about being guards while they stayed around Traverse Town. Lucario would go make rounds around the town, searching for anyplace that has no aura and then running off to warn the rest. Clans Ritz and Nutsy(Marche's), as well as Ezel, Babus, Mewt, and Doned, would stay in the pub, waiting while they discussed what they could do, and staying in one place if Lucario needed them. Ash was given a map of the town, and everyone set to work.

"I'll see you when there's some Heartless around, alright?" Ash said to Lucario as the two stepped out of the pub.

''Yes, and I'll try and see you sometimes in the trainers' district,'' Lucario nodded. The two then went their seperate ways, Lucario-wearing a small messenger bag to carry items that Clan Nutsy gave him-with his own map and beginning his rounds, Ash going off, holding the straps of his backpack like normal and wondering if he could someday get rid of the sleeping bag inside, since it was a little bit heavy sometimes.

*****OBTAINED Bag (Lucario)*****

*****OBTAINED Traverse Town Map***  
**

Ash found the district after a bit of walking and was met with a familiar sort of yell as soon as he opened the big doors leading to it.

"Charmander! Scratch!"

"Dodge it, Wingull!"

Ash gasped and smiled in joy as he saw a pokémon battle going on. He looked around. The district was shaped like a long rectangle. A big, wide street in the center went between walls of houses. There was one big building that was currently bearing a big, cardboard-looking sign that bore the familiar giant "P" of a Pokémon Center. Ash looked in profound happiness at the sight. "You really don't know what you've got 'till it's gone," he muttered, giving a sort of sad smile. He went down the steps from the platform the door opened onto, onto the streets. He went around the battle and saw there were some other people around. He didn't recognize anyone, but they were trainers, definitely from his world. After a while, he decided to go to the makeshift Center.

He walked through the door and found it was like an office building more than a Center. At the counter was Nurse Joy, looking a little tired. She looked up as Ash entered and let out a gasp. "Well, I'll be!" she said, smiling. "You're that young man who had the Pikachu, aren't you?"

Ash raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Uh, yeah," he replied. "How'd you know?"

Nurse Joy chuckled. "I'm the Nurse Joy of Nightsky City," she replied. She sighed a little tiredly. "And just when I thought that I could rest after that tiring night, I end up here and offer to start a Center so that the trainers can battle with their pokémon. I'm just so lucky that I know exactly how to build a healing machine, otherwise those trainers would be out of luck." She held up her hands in the "what can you do?" pose. "Oh, well." She smiled and bowed to Ash. "Welcome to our makeshift Pokémon Center! How may I help you?" she greeted normally.

Ash smiled and shook his head. "I don't have any pokémon that need any-wait," he stopped himself. He brought out his ball and maximized it. "I'm...not sure how I managed to do it, but...I somehow caught a Nobody," he slowly said. 'I can trust Nurse Joy. She's always one of the good guys.'

Joy tilted her head in questioning, and Ash explained what a Nobody is. She raised her eyebrows in alarm after he finished. "You mean, you caught a...a i monster /i of some sort?" she asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah...I dunno what to do with it, though, except try and use it like a pokémon," he said. He shrugged. "I know it's weird, but could you please see if it needs to be healed? Me and my friend fought it pretty hard, and I don't know if the weird light that came from this ball healed it or not..." He held the ball over to Joy.

Joy took it after a while, smiling a little. "Well, what am I afraid of?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like I have to open the ball to use the healing machine." She turned and walked to a machine with six ball sockets in it. She placed the ball in one of them and turned a switch. The machine flashed lights for a little bit, and the slot the ball was in glowed a little. After a minute, the flashing stopped, and the familiar tune played from it, saying that it was done. Joy took the ball from the slot and gave it back to Ash. "Here you go," she said, smiling. "It's...all better, I guess!" She was a little uneasy about the fact it was a creature related to the Heartless inside that ball.

Ash smiled and took it. "Thank you so much, Nurse Joy!" he said, putting the ball back on his belt. "By the way, have you seen anyone with tannish skin..." He described his friends, but Joy shook her head, saying she didn't see them. Ash's face fell, but he perked up again, smiling. "Thanks, anyway," he said. He said goodbye and left the Center.

Outside, he wondered how he should go about convincing the trainers to become guards for Traverse Town. He decided to first talk to some trainers and explain the situation to them. He found one girl and did so. "...So, we'd like some trainers to act as guards against the Heartless," Ash finished. "Could you possibly consider doing it?"

The girl hummed, putting a finger to her lips. "Weeeelll, seeing as my pokémon did so well in protecting me before that thing sucked us all up, and 'cuz that's not gonna happen again, I guess it's not too dangerous," she reasoned, then nodded. "Sure, but don't expect me to do anything seriously dangerous."

Ash felt surprised that it was so easy. "Really?" he asked.

The girl smiled and nodded. "Sure, kid! I hate those stupid black things...oh, yeah, Heartless, thanks, I hate them as much as anyone from our world. I'm sure everyone around here wants to get a bit of revenge against them. Well..." She looked at a few trainers, mouth in the "unsure" position. "Maybe not EVERYbody..."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked, like it was stupid.

The girl shrugged. "I dunno, maybe they've been scarred or something from the experience. But maybe they could be convinced, because from the sounds of it, you've got a pretty good idea going." She smiled. "You can count me in, though. It's no big deal."

Ash smiled again. "Thank you so much," he said, bowing. "Well, let's see, what's your name, first and last?" he asked, pulling a pad and pencil that Clan Nutsy provided him.

"Lyra, Lyra Gordon," she answered. "I'm more of a coordinator, but I do keep my pokémon strong so they can last through Contest battles well. Y'want my PokéGear number?" she asked.

Ash raised his eyebrows at the mention of the device. "Wow, I haven't heard about one of those for ages," he said. "Last I saw people using them was Johto. Is that where you're from?" he asked.

Lyra nodded. "Yep!" she said, grinning. "I'm really into the Contests there."

Ash remembered that May went there for Contests. "Hey, do you remember competing against a girl from Hoenn named May?" he asked.

Lyra tilted her head in thought, then nodded. "Yeah, she was pretty dang good, too," she said. "She's got a really awesome Blaziken and a cute Eevee. She won the contest, me losing in the first round. Which, I swear to you, was only because I was having an off day," she added, a little bit of an anger-vein appearing at the memory. She smiled, though. "Why, she a friend of yours?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah...I'm glad she won at least one of the Contests there!" he said, smiling. "You...haven't noticed her around here, have you?" he asked.

Lyra shook her head. "No, sorry," she replied. "I know how it is to lose your friends. She must be in Radient Garden, if anywhere."

Ash sighed. "Well, thanks again," he said, turning and waving. "I'll find you if we need you!"

"Okay!" Lyra said, waving. "Bye!"

Ash smiled and put his pad and pencil away. "I wonder how it's going to be like for the others," he murmured.

Turns out that quite a few people were ready to beat up on more Heartless when Ash went through everyone on the streets. A lot said they wanted revenge, some said they might as well, a few said that it sounded like a little bit of fun. But the people who said no said that they didn't want to lose their pokémon, or they were scared, or they just didn't really feel like it.

One boy he asked raised his eyebrow, then thought for a moment. His eyes glanced to the pokéball on Ash's belt, and his lips curved up into a smile. "I'll do it," he said, "if you give me a one-on-one battle."

Ash blinked at the condition. "Uuuh...Sure, but-" He clamped his mouth shut and wanted to whack himself. 'I FORGOT! I don't have any real pokémon, just that Nobody! Great, I'm about to scare the living daylights out of people...'

"What?" the boy asked, tilting his head. "What's wrong?"

Ash shook his head, smiling nervously. "Nothing, nothing," he lied. "Uuhm...But why battle me to decide?" he asked.

The boy grinned. "Because I want to, that's why," he said. "There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Ash half-eyed. "Yeah, right," he replied, trying not to sound sarcastic. 'As if...Ever hear of a heart?...' He sighed. "Okay, okay, but, um, can we battle in private?" he asked.

The boy shook his head. "Nope, sorry, and if you wanna battle THAT way, then I wouldn't wanna join, anyway, chicken," he replied, going off with a closed-eyes look of "yeah, yeah," on his face.

Ash gritted his teeth and shouted, "Wait!"

The boy stopped, then turned, smirking. "Here an' now, kiddo. What'll it be?"

By now, Ash had gathered a few people looking at him, with his yell. He clenched his fists and gulped. 'Here's hopin'...' He looked up. "Alright," he said. "Let's go."

The boy grinned, then stepped over to the street. "Then let's do this!"

Ash nodded, getting to a spot opposite the boy. "Okay, then..." He grabbed his ball and maximized it. "You first."

The boy grinned. "Jed calls Chimchar to the feild!" he called, tossing out a pokéball. A Chimchar appeared in front of him and squealed cutely.

Ash gulped. "Then...I choose you!" he said, and whipped his arm forward, tossing the ball. The ball opened in a flash of bright light, surprising everyone. In a beam of white light, the ball released the strange Nobody. The creature stood solid-still. Ash caught the ball while everyone gasped and looked at it. Many brought out a pokédex to blip it. All around him, Ash heard robotic voices say, "Unknown pokémon detected," "No data found," and, "Abnormality detected." People gasped again and whispered, making a low buzz among each other. Ash grimaced. 'I have a bad feeling about this...'

Jed raised an eyebrow. "What is that?" he asked. "Never heard of that pokémon before."

Ash sighed and shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I have no idea what it is, either, but I could catch it, and when I saw it, it looked like it was using regular attacks, so hey." He shook his head and looked at the Nobody. It was currently turned to face him. Ash raised his eyebrows when he saw that the marks from before were gone, and that the red leaves were now what appeared to be very strange eyes. The pupils were round, and there was no iris. No shine reflected off of them, but they weren't completely round. It disturbed Ash a little bit, but what disturbed him more was the total look of blankness in its eyes.

Ash nodded. He looked at Jed. "Well, we going to battle or what?" he asked. "You can make the first move."

Jed smirked. "Alright! Chimchar, start things off with Ember!"

Chimchar complied, spitting out Ember.

Ash shook his head. 'Gotta just think of this as a battle, nothing more!' he thought. He pointed. "Alright, dodge it!" he commanded. The Nobody stayed still, and got hit as a result. Ash grimaced. "Er...Okay, Vine Whip!" he ordered, hoping it'd work.

The Nobody rustled its leaves, then brought out twin vines of white from somewhere on it. The vines reached to whip Chimchar.

"Chimchar! Grab them and use Vital Throw!" Jed commanded.

Ash felt panic rise in his chest. 'I bet everyone around here's sure this isn't a pokémon after all, so if they see what it does, then I'm sure all the guys I recruited are going to leave!' "NO!" he cried, reaching out. "STOP THE VINE WHIPS!" he ordered.

And, thank God, the Nobody stopped them, then retracted them quickly before Chimchar could grab them. But Chimchar still charged to Ash's Nobody, ready to use Vital Throw.

Ash gritted his teeth and thought fast. "Blow it away with Razor Leaf!" he ordered.

The Nobody complied.

"Dodge it and keep going!" Jed ordered.

Chimchar leapt up into the air. Ash sweatdropped. "Keep aiming for it!" he said. The Nobody, though, was one step ahead of him. When Chimchar jumped, thus unable to move aside, the Nobody aimed upwards and fired the leaves at it. It was hit, and it appeared to do a fair bit of damage despite the type disadvantage Ash had. It was blown away a little.

Jed growled. "Alright, then, use Ember again, Chimchar!" he ordered.

Ash knew Jed's idea: If that thing doesn't dodge, I'll just keep hitting it with ranged attacks! "C'mon, DODGE!" he ordered.

The Ember kept coming.

Ash growled and put his heart into it. "DODGE IT!"

Still no reaction.

Ash, desperate, added, "PLEASE!"

And, for some inexplicable reason, _that did it_. The Nobody crouched its weird legs, then leapt up high, evading the attack at the last second. Ash blinked. "It can jump?" he mumbled. "And it responds to 'please'?" He lowered his eyebrows as memory came back. "Quick, grab Chimchar with Vine Whip!"

With lightning-quick speed, the Nobody's vines shot out and went to Chimchar. Jed couldn't react fast enough, so Chimchar was unable to avoid the attack. It got grappled. The Nobody fell and landed on its feet, awaiting further orders.

"Quick! Throw it up in the air!"

It complied, or tried, but at the same time as Ash was shouting, Jed ordered, "CHIMCHAR! FLAME WHEEL!" The flames caused Ash's Nobody to let go in pain, snaking back its vines. Ash frowned uneasilly as he noticed no other sign that it cared it got hurt. 'What if it still is nothing but an empty shell?' he wondered. Then he had to contend with the Flame Wheel rolling towards him at high speed.

"DODGE IT, PLEASE!" he said again. It worked. The Nobody jumped aside. "Fire your Bullet Seed!" It fired, and struck. It had no effect, though. Chimchar stopped and faced its opponent.

"Now's your chance! Pounce and grab it to use Vital Throw!" Jed cried.

'He's really dead-set on hitting with that, ain't he?' Ash couldn't order a dodge in time and gasped in horror as Chimchar pounced and grabbed the Nobody. "NO! DON'T DO THAT!" he cried. "TRUST ME, IT'S A BAD IDEA TO GRAB IT!"

Chimchar and Jed ignored him, and the pokémon threw the Nobody to the street, pretty hard, too. Ash's Nobody bounced once, then rolled along before stopping in the middle of the arena. It slowly, staggeringly, got up. As it did, Ash's fears were confirmed.

"CHAAAAR!" Chimchar cried as it suddenly exploded from the front. It flew back and was stopped by the crowd. It got up, gritting its teeth and looking at the Nobody.

Jed gawked. "What the heck?" He growled and pointed an accusing finger at Ash. "DID YOUR STUPID WHITE THING SET A BOMB ON MY POOR CHIMCHAR, OR WHAT?" he roared.

Ash anger-veined. "I DON'T KNOW!" he roared back. "I JUST KNOW THAT IT DOES THAT WHENEVER YOU GRAB IT! TRUST ME, I FOUGHT IT MYSELF!" He then clapped his mouth shut. "I-I mean...with my other pokémon!" he covered quickly.

Fortunately, it appeared nobody caught the implication. Jed raised an eyebrow. "You have more pokémon?" he asked. "Where are they?"

Ash sweatdropped. "Uuuh, Nurse Joy has them!" he made up. "Now, um, can we continue?" he asked.

Jed raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Right. Okay, Chimchar! We can't grab that thing, it has some sort of ability that sets a bomb or something on you whenever you do! So, let's get going! Use Flamethrower on that thing, now!"

Ash grunted and pointed, "Dodge it, please, and use Bullet Seed!"

The Nobody obeyed and side-jumped, firing Bullet Seed at Chimchar. Jed told it to dodge it, but it couldn't get away in time. He got mad. "Alright, let's see if we can at least hit it with physical attacks! Scratch it, now!"

Chimchar obeyed, running to the Nobody.

Ash wondered breifly what a tree might be able to do as a short-range melee attack. He shrugged. "Tackle!" he ordered.

The Nobody charged forward, going fast by taking leaps instead of trying to run. It jumped and struck the Chimchar with its body, sheilding the leaves away from the direction of the attack.

Chimchar stopped when it was hit, but, now close enough to slash at the Nobody, did so. Ash grunted as the attack went. Chimchar finished, then jumped back, looking tense. A few moments passed, and no explosion. It breathed a sigh of relief.

Ash, however, breathed in a breath of tension. He saw that, suddenly, his Nobody's eyes had begun to glow red. 'THAT can't mean anything good,' he thought. He gulped. "Um...Vine Whip!" he tried.

The Nobody ignored him, standing as still as a, well, tree.

"Bullet Seed?"

Nope.

"Razor Leaf? Please?"

Nothing.

Ash was worried. "Ahh..."

"It's not listening! Quick, hit it with Flamethrower!"

But that didn't work. On its own, the Nobody leapt aside, then leaped forwards, with what looked like darkness flowing around it. Ash gasped at this. "What in-?"

Jed yelped as Chimchar did. "YO! Get a handle on your walking sapling!" Jed complained. He then blanched as Chimchar weakly tried to get up, then dropped, spiraly-eyed. "Chimchar!" he cried, kneeling down and picking up his poor pokémon. "Awww...Well, you did a good job, thanks," Jed said, recalling it.

Ash blinked, not really sure if he really won. His Nobody looked pretty bad...he didn't like the way it faced Jed.

"Uhm...Excuse me?"

Ash turned and saw a young girl. "Yes?" he replied, looking down. The girl was no more than eight or nine.

The girl looked at the Nobody. "Uhm...Your pokémon's glowing red," she said in a small voice. "I remember when pokémon like that were in my home reigon, Orre. I heard that it's in something...Hyperactive? No, just Hyper Mode. The two guys who helped stop the bad people who made pokémon do that...I think they shouted at their pokémon to stop it. When they're like that, they would do bad things...like attack people..." She sounded scared.

Ash gulped. "Thanks," he said, then turned to his Nobody, which was coiling up to attack Jed, who was busy looking at his pokéball with Chimchar in it. "! STOP!" he cried, reaching a hand out and taking a step towards the Nobody.

It didn't listen, and was at the point where it would spring.

Ash, desperately, screamed, "SNAP OUT OF IT, PLEASE!" with all his heart.

The tree stopped. It turned to face Ash, eyes back to normal.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he told it. "Boy, I've gotta get to work training you not to try attacking people like you almost did," he said, trying to sound facetious. He recalled it. "Return, good job, I...guess..." The ball fired a beam of white light, then retracted its inhabitant. Ash looked at the ball for a second before putting it on his belt. He turned and found a much-less-frightened girl behind him. He smiled. "Thank you," he said again.

The girl smiled. "Just don't let it do that again! Those Shadow Pokémon are scary!" she said, then scampered off.

Ash blinked. "Shadow Pokémon?" he asked.

Jed raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so THAT'S what's up with that thing," he said, not sounding very happy. "You cheater! Don't you know Shadow Pokémon are illegal? Heck, why do you even HAVE one? They were all taken care of a while back in the Orre region!"

Ash anger-veined. "I told you, I have no idea what this thing is!" he said, holding up a fist. "I just saw it one day and caught it, alright? I don't even know a single THING about Shadow Pokémon!"

Jed scoffed. "Well, whatever, but after that, I'm not gonna join you and your stupid recruiting scheme anyway," he said, and walked off, nose in the air.

Ash sighed in defeat as the crowd dispersed. "Oh, well," he mumbled.

"Ash?"

He stood up quickly at his name and looked around. "Huh? Who's calling me?" he asked.

"Over here!" The voice sounded excited.

Ash turned and gasped. "T-T-Tracy?" he exclaimed.


	7. 02: Traverse Reaction

Tracy put down his cup of tea on the table. "I see," he said quietly.

Tracy and Ash were inside Tracy's house, which he was living in for now until he found a way to Radient Garden, where he hoped Professor Oak was. Ash had just finished telling him the truth about what happened to him. Since Tracy was a friend, he could trust him.

Tracy put his head in his hand in thought. "Hmmmm..." He brought out his handy-dandy sketchbook and pencil. "Could you please call your...what did you call it?"

Ash maximized his ball. "It's a Nobody," he reminded him. "What, you want to sketch it?" he asked.

Tracy nodded. "Yeah. Could I, please?" he asked.

Ash nodded, then reluctantly opened the ball. The Nobody appeared on the floor nearby. The tree stood for a moment, then faced Ash after seeing no enemies. "No, look at Tracy, and hold still," Ash said. After a pause, he added, "Please."

The Nobody then did as was told. Tracy laughed. "HAH! It's GOT to have a heart, don't worry," he said to Ash, smiling. "If it doesn't do things without 'please,' it's got personality, for sure."

Ash raised his eyebrows. "You've got a good point," he said, and felt a fair bit more relaxed.

Tracy smiled, then looked at the Nobody. "Hmmm...Interesting, that's what you are," he told it as he began to draw. "I'd say you'd be called the sapling Pokémon, if there isn't anything you're supposed to be."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "I know it knows moves, but are you sure it's a pokémon?" he asked.

Tracy nodded. "Yeah, as weird as it acts and looks, it's definitely a pokémon. I can just feel it!" He smiled, then looked back at the Nobody and sketched some more.

Ash waited a little, then asked, "What's a Shadow Pokémon?"

Tracy answered, still drawing, "A pokémon whose heart has been closed off by artificial means. A while back in the Orre region, this group of people called Cipher created them. Then, this one guy, who just quit Team Snagem there, went around and captured them. After he defeated Cipher the first time, Shadow Pokémon were revealed to the world. Some time afterwards, another guy went and stopped the remnants of Cipher and stopped the Shadow Pokémon once and for all.

"They battled other trainers and such to help do what's called 'purifying' the pokémon. See, a Shadow Pokémon has a black aura around it that gets smaller and smaller the more its heart opens up. Purifying is opening up its heart. Then, when the aura can't go down anymore, you either put it in a really complicated purifying machine, or head over to Agate Town and to the forest there, where a stone containing the power of Celebi finishes the purification process and makes the pokémon normal again." Tracy frowned a little. "But from what you described during the battle, it sounds like your Nobody's not quite a Shadow Pokémon. Sure, it went into Hyper Mode, but that doesn't really mean much--it might have just gotten mad. It sounds like it DID use Shadow Rush, a Shadow-type move that Shadow Pokémon like using in Hyper Mode, though, so I dunno. You're also usually not supposed to be able to use other attacks apart from Shadow Rush at first." He looked at his sketch for a second. "How long have you had it?" he asked.

Ash shrugged. "Not that long," he answered.

Tracy raised an eyebrow. "Then either it LOVES to travel with you, or it can use more moves to begin with, since traveling helps purify it, too. Basically, doing things that it likes to do by nature help purify it. Treat it well, and it'll all be okay. But I dunno why it doesn't speak. Maybe because it originally probably wasn't even a pokémon?" he wondered. He shrugged. "Well, whatever the case is, it's sort of like a Shadow Pokémon, sort of not. I wouldn't worry about it much. It's just that I wish we knew its name!"

Ash nodded. "Oh, I know," he agreed. "It feels weird not knowing what to call it. And I don't want to say 'Nobody' since that not only will scare anyone who knows what a Nobody is, but it sounds mean."

Tracy nodded, agreeing, while he erased a part. "Well," he paused and blowed the eraser dust--away from the Nobody--then continued sketching, "you're just gonna have to deal for now, I guess." He sketched a little more, then stopped, holding up his drawing. He smiled and nodded. "Done," he said.

Ash leaned over. "May I see?" he asked. Tracy turned the sketchbook and showed him a, as usual, beautiful picture. Ash shivered a little as he looked into the vacant eyes. "Those eyes are so creepy," he muttered. "I hope that when its heart opens up, it stops looking so blank all the time."

Tracy nodded, frowning a bit. "I know what you mean," he agreed. "I've seen some pretty creepy pokémon before--I thought croagunk took the cake--but nothing so unnerving as those eyes." He sighed and took his sketchbook back, putting it away.

"What should I do?" Ash asked. "I mean, we've got to have some sort of guard system around, and I don't think people are going to really listen after watching me battle with something that obviously isn't a normal pokémon."

Tracy thought for a bit. "Well, I guess the best thing to do right now would be to ask anyone else, and if they want to battle, say no," he decided. "I mean, I'd love to help, but I don't have any pokémon with me. They were all at the lab when the Heartless attacked." He looked worried. "I hope they're alright..."

Ash smiled and said, "Don't worry, Tracy, they'll be fine, I'm sure of it." He then looked out the window. "I think I'll just do what you said. And if the Heartless DO come, I think I'll train my Nobody by having it fight them. That way, I'll be able to get some progress done both ways!" He smiled. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. But...I wonder how I'll make enough money to get a Gummi ship and leave...?"

Tracy sighed. "That's what I'm trying to figure out," he said softly.

-'-,-'-

Ash left Tracy's house after the two decided to catch up on each other's adventures, bringing with him the Nobody. He then went around and tried to convince more people to become guards. A few more joined, but most of them, after seeing him battle, totally ignored him. Ash sighed hopelessly. "Ugh...I can't believe this..."

He thought to go to the Center and heal the Nobody. As it sat on the machine, Joy asked, "Is what they say true?"

"Hm?"

"That...it almost hurt a trainer?"

Ash looked away. "...Yeah."

Joy frowned. "Well, that's not good," she said. She smiled. "Just means you have to train it more, huh?"

Ash smiled and nodded.

As he walked out of the center, he heard someone calling his name. He looked around until he heard it again...in his head. "Lucario?" he asked, looking about. He soon found the pokémon running top-speed towards him.

''Ash, I found a place that's going to have Heartless soon,'' he said, skidding when he got within direct-contact range for telepathy. Some trainers looked at him in surprise, a few even flipping out their Pokédexes.

Ash nodded. "Right!" he said, and the two ran off. After some more running, they finally reached a district where some people were walking around, doing this and that. It seemed normal enough, but Ash had a bad feeling about it. "Did you tell--" he began, but Lucario had already ran off. Ash shrugged and walked around, ready at any moment to call his Nobody. After a couple minutes, Lucario returned, with Marche, Ritz, Montblanc, Guin, Shara, and Grandi coming with. (They preferred to go by normal Engagement rules in terms of members on the battlefeild.) Ash noticed that Marche lugged a pair of single-edged blades with him, one red and the other blue, Ritz had a rapier, Shara had a bow, Montblanc held a small staff, Guin held a lance, and Grandi appeared to hold nothing. He waved.

Marche waved back, running over. "Okay, so where's your weapon?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. "I'll get it out if I have to," he said. "Until then, I'm going to try and use my new friend here, try and train him up. If he faints, I'll recall him and fight myself."

Marche raised an eyebrow, but let it go. The group then went and told people to get into their houses, since things were about to get dangerous. And just in time, too; as soon as the last person went inside, Lucario began growling. Ash even felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle a little bit.

And the Heartless returned to Traverse Town in a great flock.

Tons of them, all around, appeared. More than just Shadows, too; there were also Large Bodies and Soldiers. Instantly, the FFTA fighters drew their weapons, with Grandi starting some weird dance while he channeled a monster spirit. Ash immediately threw his ball. "I choose you!!"

The Nobody appeared and, after it saw the Heartless, got into an aggressive stance. Ash pointed. "Razor Leaf! Clear these guys out!!" he ordered. The Nobody gladly complied, sending out many razor-edged leaves.

Meanwhile, the others began to fight and fight and fight the Heartless, which were a bit tougher than the ones Ash fought earlier. The FFTA fighters used all the attacks they knew, Marche having fun with what I like to call "Double Doosh," or making use of his Double Sword ability as he wielded the twin Ayvuir blades, Montblanc casting spells, Grandi using his Morpher abilities to use the attacks of beasts the clan had captured, Guin masterfully using his Dragoon attacks, Ritz gracefully proving her finesse at being a fencer, and Shara sniping like no other using her bow.

Ash and his Nobody lasted fairly long, and Ash called fervently each time it entered Hyper Mode. But as it fought and exited Hyper Mode more and more, Ash noticed it was becoming more and more animated. However, although it had lasted a good seven minutes of fighting Heartless, the Nobody soon was defeated. Ash recalled it, put the ball back on his belt, and summoned the Keyblade. "Now it's my turn!" he cried, and charged.

Marche looked at his weapon and widened his eyes. "HUH?! A giant key?" He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Well, whatever works, I guess," he muttered, then unleashed a close range Ultima Shot on a Large Body, utterly pwning it into oblivion.

The crowd didn't grow, but it didn't thin that easilly. Ash fought with all his heart, soon making his way to Lucario. Together, the Pokémon worlders battled away, watching one another's back.

All good and bad things must come to an end, though, and the last Heartless was squashed. The group stood and panted, having been fighting for fifteen straight minutes. Ash was the most tired, since he was the least used to fighting, but he did his best to not let it faze him. He dismissed the Keyblade and walked over to the steps, sitting down on them. "Ugh," he said. "I feel like I'M the one who needs a Pokémon Center now..."

Ritz smiled as she started up the steps. "Don't get tired now," she said. "You've still got trainers to recruit."

Ash groaned. "Aaaww..."

"Ash, if you're tired, come with me," Marche said, beckoning, as he went up the stairs. Ash complied, and he and Lucario went with Marche to the shop Nono manned. There, Marche pointed to something on the ground near the door. "That's known as a save disk, because it can really save your life," he explained. "What it does is heal your wounds, both physical and spiritual, allowing magic to be cast again and more hits to be taken. Not just that, it also eliminates fatigue of any kind, although your mind might get tired. You won't even need to sleep if you use these." He smiled. "It's the next best thing to a good night's sleep we've got."

Ash smiled and bowed, thanking him. He then went over and used the disk. Lucario did as well, and the surprising surge of energy they felt restored the will to do whatever they had to do again. Nono also mentioned that, when he gets one, Ash can use save disks to return to his Gummi ship. After that, the group headed back out and returned to whatever it was they had to do.

Ash continued to try convincing others of the guard thing, but still, nobody really listened. He double-checked with others he'd recruited before, and even a few of them weren't sure about it anymore. Ash sighed and sat on the step again. 'What am I going to do?' he wondered. 'Nobody believes me...and it's all because of my Nobody...pokémon...thing...Well, at least I found Tracy,' he silver-lined, shrugging.

He got up and was about to go back to recruiting when Lucario called him back and led him to the next district about to be attacked.

This went on for a few times. Ash had to fight off scores of Heartless along with Lucario, Clan Nutsy, and his Nobody pokémon, then work to recruit as many trainers as he could to fight to defend Traverse Town. However, ever since his little showcase with his Nobody, he'd had absolutely no luck whatsoever. Few he had recruited before even stayed. 'It's because they don't trust someone who battles using the enemy,' he knew. 'If only I could show them that my Nobody isn't evil anymore...!' He noticed his Nobody snapping out of Hyper Mode after he called a few times after four rounds of fighting Heartless. After that one, he decided to check.

"Lucario!" he called to his pokémon friend before he ran off.

Lucario stopped and turned. ''Yes, Ash?'' he asked.

Ash got his ball. "I want to ask you something about my Nobody," he said, letting it out. It materialized and stood up, a little tired-looking by the weakness of its legs. "Can you see any aura around it?"

Lucario raised his eyebrows, but complied, closing his eyes and lifting his dreads like he always did when seeing aura. After a moment, he nodded. ''Yes, I can,'' he answered. ''But it is black, and cloud-like, as well. However, the aura is very low. It might not be completely normal.'' He opened his eyes again. ''It does appear to be growing used to you, however,'' he added. ''You might just be able to change what counts as a heart for it.''

"If I say 'please,'" Ash joked, and Lucario smirked.

''I have to go now and continue my lookout,'' the pokémon said. ''See you soon, probably.''

"Bye!" Ash waved, and Lucario dashed off. Ash looked at the Nobody. "...Who ARE you?" he asked. The Nobody just stared lifelessly back at him. Ash sighed and held his ball up. "Return. We BOTH need to rest."

After healing both of them, Ash carried the Nobody in its ball back to the trainers' district for the umpteenth time. He sighed and looked as all of the faces from before looked at him. He heard them mumbling to each other, obviously annoyed he was back again to try and recruit them to become guardians for Traverse Town. Ash ignored the remarks he caught and went on anyway.

He wasn't really having any luck. "Go away!" "I don't trust you." "What, and join the bad guys?" "Liar!" Ash was rejected more and more. If there was any time that one would scream for the Ouendan or Agents, it would've been then. But Ash, unlike in my other fiction involving him, was the definition of determination. However, even definitions wear thin once in a while.

Ash slumped against a wall after being rejected again. "Oh, if only I could clear my name," he moaned. He sighed. As he rested from his attempts at recruition, his mind wandered to the Heartless attacks. Soon, it latched onto something that'd been unconciously bugging him. 'Heeeeyy...there's a pattern to the Heartless attacks...' He brought out his map. Taking a marker he'd picked up off the ground, he marked each district in order of attack. As he did, he gasped. "I knew it!" he said suddenly, standing bolt upright and looking at the map. A few people looked at him. Ash raised his eyebrows as he looked at his pattern of marks. Each district went one after the other in a line. "There's a pattern to the Heartless attacks! They've been going in a straight line!!" He looked up and around. "And the next place they're going is THIS district!!" He grimaced, then dashed off, holding his map in his hand tightly.

As he raced out of the district, he almost ran into Lucario. "Lucario!! I just figured something out!" he told him.

Lucario kept his aura vision on while he stood to speak. ''What?'' he asked.

Ash pointed to the map. "Open your eyes and look at this," he said. Lucario did so and looked. "These marks are the districts that have been attacked," he explained, and pointed at each one in order with his finger. "See the pattern?"

Lucario raised his eyebrows a bit. ''If you're suggesting that the attacks have been to successive districts, I think you're right,'' he replied. ''After four attacks, I'm surprised nobody else has come to that conclusion. Good job, Ash. Go tell Clan Nutsy--I need to keep my patrol up. There's a chance you might just be spotting a coincedence, but a slim one, to me.'' He then closed his eyes again and began running around.

Ash nodded and ran to the pub. After showing the map and sharing his discovery with the clan, Marche put a hand to his chin. "You know, you just might be on to something, here," he said. "Heh, if there's anything that's gonna make those trainers listen now, it's being attacked by the Heartless en masse like they've been doing. Heck, I wonder..." He trailed off.

"What?" Ash asked.

Marche opened his mouth, but closed it again. Guin chuckled and placed his finger on the trainers' district. "Let'ss ssee if you're right and have you sstay there. If they sstart to attack, then the otherss will undersstand that they have to fight, too," he ssaid. (Whoopss...! YIKESS!! I CAN'T SSTOP!! *whacked by chalkboard eraser* Ouchies...Hey, it stopped! Tha--*ducks* OKAY!! BACK TO ADVENTURE!! Sheesh, take a bit of fourth-wall humor every now and then...)

Ash nodded. "Good idea, Guin," he agreed. He took his map and put it back in his bag. "Well, guys, I'm gonna do that...but do you think that I've got a good idea?"

The clan generally nodded. "You're smarter than you look," Shara commented, smirking.

Ash anger-veined. "What's THAT s'posed t'mean?!" he asked, and the clan laughed.

-'-,-'-

Later, Ash got to the district and looked around, feeling a little tense. 'If what I figured was right...I wonder...' He looked at the other trainers and gasped. 'That's IT! I just have to show that my Nobody is good, and they'll understand that I'm a good guy!!' He made his determined Ash face. "Looks like those things might help after all!" he muttered.

He then was actually anxious for the Heartless to come. He just paced around, and tried telling people that the Heartless might attack there next. A lot didn't believe him, but some of the ones he'd recruited who stayed with him did. And then, finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lucario came rushing down to him, wearing a smile.

"Lucario!! Where're they coming next?" Ash asked, running over to him when he saw him.

''You'll be one proud trainer when you hear this,'' Lucario replied, getting close and thus stopping. He smirked. ''Get your Nobody out.''

Ash grinned. "I KNEW it!" he said. "They're coming here, aren't they?" Lucario nodded, and Ash jumped and pumped his fist in the air. "YES!! See??" He looked around at everyone. "I was right!! Get your pokémon out, this is going to get dangerous!!"

Most people just blew him off, but a few listened. More listened once Clan Nutsy, since Lucario ran off to tell them before telling Ash, came through the district doors. Marche went over to Ash and smiled. "Everyone has their own moments of cleverness," he told him. "And sometimes, those moments are good for more than just themselves."

Ash grinned and gave a thumbs-up before turning to the trainers. "Alright, now, if your pokémon faint, recall them RIGHT AWAY and switch out at the same time!" he told the ones with pokémon out. "If all of your pokémon faint, get to someone who's still got pokémon and stay near them! Don't come near one of us fighters, since we'll be moving around too much and might accidentially hit you, and trust me, you really don't wanna be hit by one of our weapons." The trainers agreed whole-heartedly on that one, looking a little perturbedly at the arsenal in the hands, paws, and claws of Clan Nutsy.

Finally, shivers went down everyone's spines and conversation stopped abruptly as the hairs on the backs of everyone's necks rose. Then, suddenly, the Heartless came. People screamed, but the ones with pokémon out instantly ordered attacks. Ash, who had gotten his Nobody out, began commanding his own fighter, as well.

The fight went on as normal. The Heartless swarmed around, trying to fight everyone down to a weak state perfect for stealing hearts. The pokémon fought with all of theirs, sending the beasts into darkness. Ash spread the word around on how to fight the Large Bodies, which many were having a lot of trouble with(except, as Ash noticed, a few Ghost-type attack-users). A lot of people were able to make their pokémon last, with them getting tired more than knocked out. Some were stupid enough to send out all of their pokémon at once, which Ash, having done the exact same thing and ended up being sucked up by black goo, was quick to advise against.

The trainers that had time to watched him command his Nobody to attack. "Razor Leaf!!" "Bullet Seed!!" "Vine Whip!!" "Stun Spore!!...Please!!" Whenever he asked nicely for his Nobody to respond, people either laughed or rolled their eyes. Or both. But the Nobody was fighting and fighting and fighting, and whenever it went into Hyper Mode, Ash was able to successfully call it back without it calming down on its own. By the time it fainted, Lucario, who had kept an eye on it, reported that its black aura was almost non-existant. Ash grinned as he caused a Shadow to disappear. "I think it's about ready for purification," he said. "But I need to go to Agate Village, which was in our world. So how will I purify it?" He shook his head and fought with his Keyblade.

The trainers survived, each and every one of them, with all their pokémon's hearts intact. When the last Heartless was blown to oblivion, the crowd of trainers looked around, waited, then cheered as loud as they could.

"YEAH!!"

"WOO-HOO!!"

"WE KILLED 'EM!!"

"AND STAY OUT!!"

Ash smiled at them all. He called for silence, but wasn't heard.

"OI!!" came a deep, gruff, and very loud voice. Most people stopped and turned. Guin had used his mighty set of pipes to yell for silence. When they all looked at him, he smiled and nodded to Ash. "All yourss," he said.

Ash grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Guin." To the audience, he said, stern-faced, "Now you've just experienced what I'm asking you all to be a part of--what WE'RE asking you to be a part of. The Heartless are here to collect the hearts of those who escaped their raids on other worlds. We've all experienced the horrors of what it was like to face the Heartless, so let's not let anyone else go through that same horror twice, and with no real way out this time. Some people here didn't fight their way to survival--they were either fast or lucky. So that's why we're asking everyone--" Ash held his fist up to his face. "Join the Traverse Town Defense Corps and guard this sanctuary to those who've lost their worlds from the Heartless!" He punched upward at the last words.

There was a pause, one where Ash felt his heart slowly sink. But then, slowly, trainers began nodding and making accepting sounds.

"That wasn't really so hard, I think."

"I think my pokémon can take it."

"I remember the day those things came outta nowhere and runied my life...I don't want anyone else having to go through that twice!"

"Hey, it's better than fighting the same people day after day...or should it be night after night? I can't really tell..."

"You don't get to do something like THIS every day! I'm doin' it!"

"Yeah!"

"I'll do it if you do it."

"Okay!"

"Then I'm in!"

"Me too!"

"Ditto!"

(Many: )"Where?"

"I'll do it!"

"Alright, sounds fair!"

"Yeah!"

"Bring 'em on!!"

"With all of us together, those things won't stand a chance!!"

"Anything to deal a bit of payback for stealing my home--AND my Wii!"

(Many: )"THEY STOLE YOUR Wii?! NOW they're DEAD!!"

As more words were said by people, the crowd grew louder and louder until finally, it was a mass of determined trainers whose fighting spirits burned as if the Ouendan had been doing an ALL300 run for them. Ash smiled slowly, wider and wider, tears starting down his cheeks. "They finally listened..." he whispered, then jumped and pumped his arms up. "AAAWWWWWRIIIGGCHT!! NOW THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKIN' ABOUT!!" he shouted in elation.

Lucario and Clan Nutsy looked at him, the crowd, and him again, then smiled.

-'-,-'-

After a while, the crowd settled down and began lining up to sign up for the guard. Most of the trainers decided to do it, with the ones who had decided not to saying they weren't confident their team was strong enough, or that they were very worried they might lose their pokémon, or perhaps themselves. Ash had to split up sign-up work between himself and a few of Clan Nutsy--Lucario even helped, showing that, to Ash's surprise, he knew how to write. His paw-writing was very neat, as well, and was in cursive. When asked later on by Ash why he never wrote before, the aura-user replied, ''It's tedious, and I never found much use for it except to record a diary I used to keep. I mainly learned it along with reading.'' (And, as it was the Pokémon world he was from, and the dub specifically, he was able to speak, read and write both English and Japanese very fluently, like every other member from his world.)

Finally, after a good solid hour and a half of writing down names of trainers, the people who signed the trainers up went to the pub for a much-needed break. (Oddly, the Heartless weren't coming very frequently. They had been appearing every half hour, wherabouts, but had decided to take a break, too, from invading, or something.) As they rested their writing hands(or paws), the group discussed how they should split up the Traverse Town Defense Corps, or TTDC for short. Marche was impressed with the name Ash thought up for them, and Ash humbly said it was nothing, just something he'd made up on the spot.

They decided to split them up into five teams named after an aspect of Traverse Town. Thus, trainers became a part of the Lampost, Belltower, Fountain, Gateway, or Hat (remember that big, goofy hat that had a tounge sticking out from it that you collected postcards for? THAT hat) Division. The Gateway Division would take the southern (assuming that was where the big doors are, I'm not sure) part of Twilight Town, Belltower the northern part, Fountain the eastern, Lampost the western, and Hat the central. After making an emblem for each division, Clan Nutsy, Ash, and Lucario went out to the trainers' district to announce the five teams and ask for people to sign up for whatever division they wanted to join. Not many were angry they had to write their names again, since most realized that they hadn't been put in a division where they might not have been with their friend(s).

When they got there, they learned that the Heartless had struck again, in the trainers' district AND the next one over. However, some of the trainers had been smart enough to think to stay in the other one, and the attack--which was basically split between the two districts in terms of total enemy size--was unsucessful on the Heartless' part. Ash was very happy that his fellow trainers were so good, both in wisdom and battle skill. "This just confirms my beliefs that this was a great idea!" he said to Marche.

Marche smiled and nodded. "You're right on that one, for sure," he agreed. "Now, let's get everyone to a sign-up sheet and wait for more attacks so we can help organize everyone to fight!"

Ash nodded, then thought. "Wait, I think I should go talk to Nurse Joy and organize things with her, since she's going to be swamped now," he thought to do, and ran through the crowd of trainers to Nurse Joy.

When he got inside the Center, he found an already-flogged Joy flusteredly helping the pokémon of all those who either participated in the previous battle that Ash was in or the more recent one. She looked up and smiled at the young trainer as best she could. "Ash! Looks like you got people to listen, alright," she said quickly, then turned and grabbed her current trainer's pokéballs off the machine. "Here you go! They're all better, now!" she said to her, and she gratiously accepted them, then left.

Ash grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry for all this heavy work," he apologized to the nurse. "I forgot about the fact this is a small, makeshift Center instead of a big, real one."

Joy smiled sympathetically and nodded. "That's alright, Ash," she replied, "I've been trained to handle enormous amounts of trainers at once. With one machine and thousands of them, however..." She trailed off as she gave another trainer his balls back.

Ash frowned, trying to think of what he could do to help. He sighed when he found not much to do. "I wanted to come and talk to you about this, but I guess you're too busy," he said ruefully. "I'm sorry."

Joy smiled again. "That's perfectly okay, Ash! You go and help the others with whatever else has to be done, alright? That is, of course, if your pokémon doesn't need to be healed," she added.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah! I'll get in line--"

Joy smiled and shook her head. "I'll put you in with hers, since she's only got five pokémon," she said, carrying the tray of balls. Ash thanked her for the offer, gave his ball to her, and she put them on the machine. After they were healed, she gave back the corresponding balls and Ash bowed out.

As he went out, some trainers commented to him. "Sorry I didn't listen before!"

"Your weird pokémon's actually pretty cool!"

"Any enemy of those black things are a friend of mine!"

"Kick-ass key, man!"

"Sorry I thought your pokémon was evil..."

"Thanks for helping us fight those things!"

"I'll do my best to defend Traverse Town, and my pokémon will, too!"

Ash smiled sheepishly, blushing, and responded to them with Thank-yous, No-problems, and That's-okays, then left. He went to find Lucario, then Marche, and then, with the two, began to do his part to organize things.

-'-,-'-

After a while, which involved another Heartless strike--this time two away from and at the trainers' district--Ash, Lucario, and much of Clan Nutsy flopped into Nono's shop to seek the refuge of the green disk. After being healed and rejuvinated, however, the group decided to sit down at the table, wishing to rest their minds. Nono blinked at this, then shrugged and went back to sitting and minding the shop, which meant sitting on the counter while playing some DS(FFIII, of course).

After a while, Nono got a delivery from the MogNet. Not one in his game, but one in reality: A normal moogle fluttered down, holding some mail, including an official-looking and wax-sealed letter, in his paw. "Nono! Mail, kupo!" he said, reaching the more-detailed one of his race.

Nono flicked his DS shut and looked up. "Kupo! About time it got here!" he said, and took it from the white teddy-bear-like creature's paw. Afterwards, the delivery moogle flew back up to the synthesis shop upstairs. He leafed through the letters. "Ku-poooh...Junk, junk...bill, ugh, kupo...Kupo! News from machinist Cid in Radient Garden, kupo!! Thank goodness!!" He put a blue-enveloped letter aside and looked at the last two. "...One for you, brother," he said, looking up to Montblanc, who was sitting at the table, and tossing the letter to him, and looked back down. Montblanc caught the letter as it spun through the air like a rectangular shuriken. Nono raised his eyebrow as he looked at the last one, the official-looking one. He read, "'To Lucario, Hero of Waves,' kupo..."

Lucario sat up straight. ''Eh?''

Nono glanced up with his eyes over at the black-and-blue pokémon breifly before looking back at the letter. "There's no return address, kupo," he noticed, then turned the letter over. He raised his other eyebrow. "I wonder what this wax seal means...Maybe you would recognize it, kupo?" he suggested before throwing it to Lucario.

Lucario caught the letter between two claws with expert ease and precise timing. 'My dexterity's returning well.' He looked at the front, then the back, at the seal. He puzzled over it. ''No, I'm afraid not,'' he confessed.

Ash leaned over to look. "A wax-sealed letter? You don't see many of those nowadays," he said. He asked to see it and Lucario held the letter over. Ash took it and examined it like the pokémon did, front then back. As soon as he saw the symbol, he gasped, then smirked a grin and looked impressedly at Lucario. "Lucario?" he asked. "Are you feeling lucky?"

Lucario raised an eyebrow at the quote. ''Not particularly, why?''

Ash grinned and pointed to the seal on the letter. "Because you've just been chosen to do something that only the best of the best get to be in," he replied. "Something that Pikachu has been chosen to do a couple times before."

Lucario tilted his head curiously, dreads falling a bit. ''?''

The symbol on the seal was that of a plain circle. However, it was cut into four parts, with not a single one equal in size to another, by a crosshairs pointed towards the lower-left part of the design. The seal was black except for the four split-up segments of the circle, which were red.


	8. 02: Third Time's the Armor!

(Sorry for the HUGE hiatus, guys! I'm just not very good at keeping my fanfics in balance. Then again, you can't expect me to be like a creativity robot or something and be able to write an equal amount on each fanfic before updates. I mean, I have different balls to balance on--one for each thing that I'm committed to, which includes individual fanfictions. I'm on the ball for some things, and sometimes I can tip up onto another and be on more than one at once, but more often than not, I fall off of one and land on the ground. I'm stuck to either staying put or pushing a ball around until I can get on it again. You understand what I'm saying? Anyway, here's some grade-A half-assing, fresh for you to puke at!! :D )

After everyone was ready to go out again, they discovered that they now had to sort everyone out into their areas. About twenty trainers were assigned to each division, it seemed, and they had already gotten buttons that Nono had made for them with a Badge-a-Minit he found lying around the shop. The Gateway Division, whose emblem was that of the big double doors leading out of the world set against a blue background, was around the First District, patrolling around already. They had gotten the gist of the idea, to Ash's delight. They found that the Gateway Division was the only one whose entire membership was in the right place. The other divisions were scattered about, and so Ash and everyone else had to go and find the ones with the differently-colored badges and direct them to their areas.

Now, some of you may remember Traverse Town as a reasonably small world whose second-most-visited area and largest area was the Second District. The town had expanded in the year that Sora had been asleep and the remaining time that had passed between then and the time Ash came. In that period, a new set of fifteen other districts, each resembling a long, broad street with town houses and apartments lining the sides and at the end after the five hundred feet of road, had sprung up. Most of them started from a huge "J" of outdoor hallway that nestled around the Second District and the areas around it to the cave tunnel that led to the now-nearly-abandoned Magical House and went all the way around to the starting end of the First District. This "J", called the Fourth District, was the district that had The Crooked Crossroads pub where the clan met and the same one that Lucario ran laps around while keeping a look out for districts in danger. All along the long, broad road were big doors that led out to the new districts, which numbered Five, Six, Seven, and onwards from the end that began at the First District to the other end, where the Eighteenth District lay. The Nineteenth District started from the Third District, going alongside the cavern. The town had spent a great deal of munny to build them, but it paid off when the latest influx of Heartless-attacked otherworlders came in, mainly the massive amount of Trainers.

This being said, if my memory's right and I'm telling this right, this would mean that there would, indeed, be distinctly north, south, east, west, and central areas. The First District was all handled by the Gateway Division, blue, and the Second was handled by the Hat Division, red. The most-eastern districts were handled by the Fountain Division, green, the most-northern districts were handled by the Belltower Division, yellow, and the most-western were handled by the Lampost Division, white. The ones in the corners were shared between the divisions that shared them and two people from the Hat Division. There were also two members who patrolled the Fourth District. This last one was needed because there were more than just more living districts there--there were also some more shops over there, too. (As well, some of the newer districts had a shop or other special establishment.) All in all, the system was pretty well-spread. People took shifts with other members waiting back at the Trainers' District, the Tenth District.

However, as of now, people were confused. They thought they had to hang out around the place that their division was named after or were just totally lost. So, Ash, Lucario, and Clan Nutsy had to run around, catching glimpses of people who had wrong-colored buttons on and redirecting them. They had assigned leaders to each Division, who all had a firm grasp of their patrol area and could assign people to evenly spread them out, so that's who everyone was directed to. Their leaders were all currently inside the Second District after Ash informed them that people need help getting to their right places. They were able to help out anyone that was from their Division who got directed to them, and all was right with the world for the moment before the next one was found.

It took an hour, but everyone was directed to their proper places. The Heartless never attacked, though, which worried Ash and Lucario a little. ''I hope that they aren't planning a major assault soon,'' Lucario said.

"Yeah," Ash agreed, nodding and grimacing. He found ANOTHER green button when they should have a red one standing around the fountain. As he ran over, he called, "Hey, I'm sorry if the name of your Division confused you, but if you'll talk to the head of your Division, over there," he pointed, stopping by the young girl, "she'll tell you where to go."

"Oh, okay! Thank you!" she said before trotting off.

Ash sighed in annoyance, but he smiled. "I feel proud," he said quietly. "I guess I really do. I worked hard and it's paying off."

''Well, we'll know if it really is or not when the Heartless come back,'' Lucario said, walking over.

"Hey, you guys," Marche said as he came walking over. He'd been running around, pointing people in the right direction as well. He held a hand up as he came over, and got one in return. "Just asking, what's the status on Heartless attacks?" he asked Lucario.

Lucario put on his aura vision and waited for a few moments while he extended it outwards to the edge of the districts. He turned a small circle slowly, scanning around. When he had turned a full 360 degrees, he turned it off and opened his eyes. ''Nothing's coming yet,'' he said. ''And, who knows? Maybe there won't be too many next time. There weren't that much last time. They might be trying to divide and conquer since we've beaten them if they congregate in one district at a time.''

Marche and Ash agreed with his guess. "That might not be very off," Marche said. "Me and my clan have done that a lot of times."

"I wonder if the Heartless have decided to go away," Ash said, face brightening a little. Then, he gritted his teeth and tensed as if hit by something. "Wait! Then that would mean..." He drooped his body and looked disappointed. "...all of this has been for nothing! Awwwww!!" Marche laughed a little.

"Aw, don't worry, Ash," he said. "I'm sure that they're not going to give up that easily. They're stubborn little idiots."

Lucario crossed his arms and looked up at Marche. ''Say, Marche,'' he asked. Marche turned to him. ''I've noticed that you, Doned, Ritz, and Mewt have all sometimes referred to things in the modern age, the age that Ash and I--although most of my life has been spent in a time many ages past, it's a long story--are from. However, you are all using swords and magic. Am I just overthinking things, or is there something else?'' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Marche raised both of his and took a step back in surprise. "Woah, that does sound pretty far-fetched," he said.

"Where?" asked Ash and another trainer walking past, both looking left and right. Lucario smacked his snout.

Marche continued, "But I have to confess..." He looked left and right and leaned over to them and spoke softer. "Me and the others you mentioned are actually from a different world within our world, essentially," he said. "Mewt used a magic book he found in a store by chance one day and we were all sent to a dream world that he made up in a world called Ivalice. I had to work my butt off to get us all to go back home, since it was basically escapism for him, but we managed to go. The world he'd made was still there, though, and was so solid by the time we'd left, it became its own real world, just like yours. Who knows? Maybe it already existed before Mewt got us all sent there." He shrugged, smiling a bit. "However, though we all have decided to live normal lives, we recently found out that we can actually use the book to return whenever we want to and visit our friends. When the Heartless attacked was a time when me and the others were in that world. We tried our best, but because I destoyed some special crystals that helped tie that world shut, I guess it disappeared." He sighed sadly this time. "As far as I know, our clan and only a few other people I know are the only ones who survived. We ended up here and decided to stay here and help out with anything we could in place of some other guys who were here before us that moved off to work at a world called Radient Garden."

Lucario nodded. ''I'm sorry you lost your home that way,'' he said. ''And I'm sorry for prying. My curiousity got the better of me.''

Marche smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, it's fine," he said. "I mean, I get to stay with my friends from both my worlds and have adventures again while still being with them. And besides, we all have our own sob stories," he chuckled.

Ash and Lucario nodded, smiling a little. Ash found another misplaced Trainer and ran over, Lucario following.

"Besides," Marche added in a low voice to himself. He grinned. "I get to be inside of ANOTHER favorite video game!!"

-'-,-'-

Ash and Lucario went and helped out the remaining people in the District before sitting at the fountain to rest. "Maybe we should head to the save disc and rest," Ash suggested.

''That might be wise,'' Lucario agreed. The two stood up, but Lucario stopped. ''Wait, I want to do one last scan, quickly,'' he said.

"Alright," Ash said, and waited. However, it didn't take long for Lucario to gasp and open his eyes again. Ash was a bit tense. "What's up?" he asked.

''I thought I was having trouble entering my aura vision for a second,'' he said. ''Then I looked up and saw yours...''

Ash gritted his teeth and grabbed the ball with his Nobody within it. "Does that mean what I think it does?" he asked.

Lucario nodded. ''Look out!'' he called to everyone around him. ''The Heartless are coming right here!!''

Ash ran over to stand by Lucario, who got in his fighting stance. Marche and the other Trainers were on the catwalk around the western end of the District, so they had to run around to get to them. However, right when they were about to get in, a wall of violet hexagons flashed up. Marche bounced back from it and grunted in pain. "Ash!" he called as he stood up. "Lucario!!"

The two Pokémon worlders were trapped as a gigantic being rose before them. A being made of just a head, body, arms, and legs...colored pure black. It stood, looking at them, before switching around its left hand and right foot, flipping its body but keeping its head the same way, visor down. They raised their eyebrows at this. "What...IS that?" Ash asked, open-mouthed at the beast.

''It's no Heartless I've ever seen,'' Lucario said, gritting his teeth and adjusting his stance.

The armor looked at them and started to attack, swinging around the parts of its body while the body itself flipped around and around. It looked like it was an oblong atom with the weirdest electrons circling it as it went towards Ash and Lucario. They avoided it and rolled aside, Ash releasing his Nobody when the Heartless bounced off of the wall of the fountain and away. "We should wait until it stops!" Ash told Lucario. Lucario nodded.

The Heartless did stop its movement after it tried to ram the spot that Ash was in. He avoided it, summoning his Keyblade before he got hit to block it. He was blown back a little from the force of the blow, but he kept his balance, aura channeling helping his physical abilities. "Vine Whip and grab one of its arms!" he commanded the Nobody.

The Nobody stayed put.

"...Please!"

It shot out the vines from inside it and grabbed an arm. The arm was held in place for a short amount of time while Ash jumped up and launched a combo on it. "It's part of it, right?" he reasoned to Lucario on the way down.

''I suppose,'' he said, running around to the rear side.

The Heartless had stopped moving, and was now different-looking. The hands and feet were all in the right places, now. From the sidelines, Mewt, who had come out of an entrance to the Fourth District to see what was the matter, grabbed the railing and exclaimed, "It's the Guard Armor Heartless!"

The Guard Armor then began to attack the same way that the one who attacked Sora when he had first met Donald and Goofy. Ash, Lucario, and the Nobody avoided its attacks as best as they could. Ash commanded the Nobody to use ranged attacks like Bullet Seed, trying to be a Trainer first and foremost as his most comfortable position. Lucario used a few Aura Spheres, but he also used melee attacks when the thing was still and wasn't trying to swing its arms around or kick them. Then, abruptly, it flipped back into the first pose it was in and began to use what Ash decided to call "Crazy Orbit". It hit a wall after it had missed Lucario and Ash, after which it suddenly thrust all its parts together into one. Then, without warning, it exploded them out all over the place in an attempt to hit them. Not expecting it, they all got hurt. Then, as the Guard Armor, bringing back its parts, inverted itself entirely, the Nobody entered Hyper Mode from the pain.

Meanwhile, though, Marche grabbed his railing and exclaimed, "No! It's a Reverse Armor Heartless!"

"But it was a Guard Armor just a second ago!" complained Mewt.

"I think it's, like, a mixture of both," Marche described back. "Like...uh..."

"Switch," Ritz said, the other two looking at her. "Its main form appears to be that in-between form, where it's halfway between backwards and forwards, sort of. It's like when a boarder is riding switch--they're facing backwards but going forwards at the same time, so it's sort of a mix, like the Heartless is."

"Switch Armor," tasted Marche and Mewt (at different times). They both nodded.

"Alright, it's called 'Switch Armor'! Cool!" Ash shouted back to them after failing to get his Nobody out of Hyper Mode again, which worried him. "Now could you guys try shouting more helpful things, since you look like you know what to do?!"

"Uuuuuh..." they went, looking at each other. They shrugged. "It flails around a lot, that's all I remember," the all said at once.

Ash and Lucario face-fell. ''THAT helps,'' Lucario grumbled.

"C'MOOON!!" Ash called. "PLEASE!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!"

The Nobody ignored him and Shadow Rushed into a big hand on the ground, wincing as it got hurt as well.

Ash growled and, absently putting some aura into his voice, shouted, "PLEEEEAASSE!! STOOOOP!!"

WHAM!! The Nobody was hit and skidded towards Ash, where it stopped. It had its eyes shut tight, but when they opened, it was normal again. Ash knelt down to it to see if it was okay, but it stood up slowly. It breathed heavily before it mumbled something.

Ash stopped. "What?" he asked it. "Did you say something?"

The Nobody panted some more before saying, a bit louder, "Exexitt...Exexitt..."

Ash gasped. "You're...You're named...Exexitt?" he asked.

"...Ex..."

Ash didn't get that, and Lucario gave a helpless shrug before guarding against a slam from the Switch Armor. Ash looked at the pokémon. "If your name is Exexitt, then please, come over here," he ordered gently.

And it did. Gladly, it seemed, too. It hobbled back over as fast as it could. Ash gasped in happiness. "I know your name!" he said. "That's great! Exexitt, do you want me to help?" he asked, crouching down. He had recently raced off breifly to purchase a few potions that he found at a small, amature (sp?) shop in the Trainers' District after a Trainer he redirected gave him a flyer before he forgot about it. (He even had to pay in Pokédollars!) He got one out and held it up. Exexitt didn't even nod, but Ash knew that it was hurt. "Hold still, this might sting..." He started to spritz his pokémon.

KRANG!! Ash looked up in alarm as an Aura Sphere deflected a big boot coming at him. Lucario ran out. ''And so might have that,'' he scolded him. ''We don't have time for this! I'm sorry, but we've got a fight on our hands!!'' He gave a mighty kick at a hand coming at him, grunting in pain as he hit metal. ''And hurry, this thing is starting to hurt when I hit it...''

Ash nodded and spritzed Exexitt all around as fast as he could. He was quickly out of potion, but Exexitt was ready for combat again. "Alright, Exexitt!!" he said, standing.

"Ex!"

"Let's help out Lucario with a Razor Leaf, please!"

"Ex-ITT!" it grunted as it sent out the razor-sharp leaves.

The battle wore on, with Ash commanding Exexitt for a couple minutes more before, to his horror, a great blast from Switch Armor's Reverse form struck Exexitt out cold. "Return, Exexitt! You deserve it!" Ash said proudly as he recalled it. He looked at the ball. "Thanks," he smiled before putting it on his belt and gripping his Keyblade. "Sorry, Lucario! It's my turn, now!" He ran out and helped Lucario as best as he could.

They were having a little trouble before, at one point during Switch Armor's true form (finally minus a foot) and while it was about to use its exploding attack, Ash suddenly felt his aura pulse. 'A Reaction!' He obeyed it and suddenly jumped up very high. "Over here!" He hung in midair for a moment, waiting for a second.

The Switch Armor moved its parts around quickly to aim at Ash the second before it exploded all out to Ash. Ash felt another Reaction and took it. He gave a triumphant "HA-HAAH!" as he took a huge, aura-enhanced, two-handed overhead strike, sending him flipping a couple of times from the force. It hit the clump of parts and launched them straight back at the body and head, which were all that remained after the explosion. It got hit and fell to the ground, dazed. Ash fell, grabbing his hat before it landed too far away from him, and landed on the ground with it on again, grinning a bit before he took off to take his chance now that he'd a good shot.

Lucario smirked. ''I think you're beginning to get the hang of it,'' he said, running over to attack, as well. ''Though, I can imagine that it must have taken a fair amount of effort to use that much aura...''

"Not really, actually" Ash said, landing his second full combo and starting on his third. "I think the Keyblade helped out a bit."

''I suppose.'' Lucario jumped over and gave a good, aura-enhanced pair of downward kicks in midair to the Switch Armor's head moments before it shook and shot up again. He landed and raised an eyebrow as he looked up at it. ''Is it just me, or did that look like it hurt a lot more than I thought it would?'' he asked.

"I think it did," Ash agreed before he chuckled. "Just don't use it too much, or folks'll call you a cheapskate!" he warned him.

Lucario scoffed. ''A good warrior NEVER uses the same move over and over for sake of strategy and honor!'' he said resolutely, cutting his paw through the air.

Ash and Lucario watched as the Switch Armor rose again and continued its assault. It was starting to use advanced attacks during its Guard and Reverse forms more often. Ash soon found that he could use a Reaction Command with each form. When it first became Guard Armor form, he jumped up (saying, "Here we go!") and grabbed a finger on a circling hand it swung out, hung on, and slammed his Keyblade, point-first, into its side when it drew the hand in close again ("TAKE THAT!"). He turned it while flipping around it like an acrobat once before pulling it out and getting in a good horizontal slash as he fell, holding onto his hat. He decided that, from then on, it might be wise to turn his cap around as soon as possible during any aerial Reaction Commands.

When Switch Armor later entered Reverse form, Ash did a pretty obvious Reaction Command. He held his Keyblade like a batter and waited as the Reverse form's cannon charged. "Batter up!" he said while he slid into place for it. The Heartless launched it, and Ash barely Reacted in time. After he skidded to a side to get in the right position, you can imagine what he did, and how painful it must have been for the Heartless to get hit with a blast as big as its head (or bigger).

And, finally, as it went back to its normal form, Ash could use the attack he did before until he destroyed all of the limbs and had only the head and torso left. Then (which was a couple more uses of that Reaction later), it became absolutely insane, switching between spinning like a top, flipping and rolling through the air like...who knows what, and firing more energy balls at them. Ash could do the baseball-themed Reaction still, though, and he did so as much as he could despite the shorter charge time it used and the fact it fired three at a time whenever it saw him do that. Ash had to bat them one after the other into a single energy ball, growing it to a size bigger than the thing that fired it, that formed above the Armor before, after the third had been added, it was fired once more. Ash managed to, after a short battle (can you say "button mash?"), hit it right back. He was surprised the thing survived it, merely getting stunned.

It was over after the first time he used that advanced version of the baseball-themed Reaction, though. He and Lucario came in and the two whailed on it until, at last, it crackled and flashed, time seemingly slowing down as the final hit was given.

Finally, the Switch Armor floated up into the air and exploded in a cloud of light. A great heart floated up, up, and away from it. The wall lowered down, and almost everyone ran down to Ash. "You survived!" Marche said in surprise as he ran down. "You guys did it! Great job!"

"That was AWESOME!" said a Trainer enthusiastically.

"I don't think they're going to be coming back anytime soon, now, kupo!" Montblanc commented, nodding happily and making his pompom-antenna thing bounce up and down a bit.

Ash blushed and put a hand behind his head. "Heh, thanks," he said. "It was nothing, though..."

Lucario chuckled. ''No. You put a lot of effort into that fight, Ash,'' he said. ''You fought very bravely.''

Ash gave a sheepish grin. "Heh, I guess I had to," he said.

"That still doesn't get rid of the fact that you guys rocked," said a familiar voice.

Everyone turned, but they were in the way of Ash. "Huh? Hey--uh--guys!" he grunted as he hopped up to see. He began pushing through them. "'Scuse me, sorry..." They soon got the idea and parted in front of him. "Huh?" He stopped and looked around. "Uh, thanks..." He looked forwards again and gasped.

"Oh, and no pun intended," the owner of the voice added, smirking as his oval-lensed, wire-framed sunglasses flashed in the light.

Ash dropped his jaw into a grin. "NO WAY!! Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter?!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them.

"The one and only," Lock said, nodding as he walked over. He chuckled and raised an eyebrow as he walked over to him. "I thought I was supposed to be the only one with a key around here," he joked, lifting a hand and jangling the housekeys on his star-patterned lanyard.

Ash stopped in front of him, holding a hand up as he got there. They slapped a high-five. "Man, I never thought I'd see YOU guys again!" he said excitedly, grinning. "So you're all okay?"

They nodded. "Heck, yeah," Meyers said, walking over with Hunter. "We're all fine."

"We don't have that much time to stop and chat, though," said Hunter, shrugging. "We're here because we've come to collect a certain special guy...not you, I'm afraid."

''Who are you?'' Lucario asked, walking over to them.

Ash sweatdropped as what he expected happened. Lock, Meyers, and Hunter jumped into pose, with Lock standing up and holding out his badge and Meyers and Hunter doing their mic-holding-crouch-with-other-arm-out pose to either side. "The Elite Beat Agents are at your service!" Lock said proudly. "And we're here for YOU, Lucario!"

Lucario sweatdropped from the reply, but he stopped and opened his mouth a bit as he went, ''Huh?'' He narrowed his eyes. ''And what do you mean, you're here for me?'' he asked, taking a step back.

Ash sweatdropped again and waved his hands as he stepped between them, making a nervous, eyes-closed smile as he chuckled and said, "W-Wait, Lucario! These guys are good! Don't worry!!" He stood normally again when Lucario did. Ash gave an Ash smiled as he said, "These guys are Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter," he introduced. "They're part of a group called the Elite Beat Agents. They're basically super cheerleaders in black suits and ties that help people out through singing and dancing. One day, when I was in trouble and I was about to give up, I actually screamed for help and they came out of NOwhere and helped me!" He laughed and shook his head. "Man, after they had to follow us around, we went through a bunch of crazy times!"

"Eh, 'crazy''s just the usual in our line of work," Lock shrugged. He walked over to Lucario. "Look, Lucario, we're not here to do anything bad to you. In fact, we're going to help you--if you want to come along and respond to that letter you should've gotten a bit ago, that is." He crossed his arms and smirked. "You look like you'd make it in the Brawl."

''The Brawl?'' repeated Lucario.

Lock grinned. "Yeah, it used to be the Melee, but now they've changed the layout and added a few bells and whistles to the presentation and it's called the Brawl now," he said. He looked up in thought. "There's a lot of new people, too, and, now that I think about it, there was another guy from your guys' world there, too. He's probably gone, now, though." He looked behind him at Ash, who had raised his eyebrows. "What, you think that he's the only one who got there?" Lock asked, raising an eyebrow as well. "You familiar with the name Professor Oak at all?"

"PROFESSOR OAK'S THERE?!" Ash exclaimed. "No WAY!" He broke into a smile. "He survived, too!" he said quietly. "I was so worried!"

Lock thumbed over his shoulder. "We've got enough room in our Gummi ship," he said. "You can tag along, if you like."

"Can I, too?" People turned to find Tracey standing at the railing. "You're going to where Professor Oak is, right?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure these guys can bring you, too," he said. He looked up at Lock. "Right, Lock?"

Lock sweatdropped and held his hands up. "Sh-Sure, but I don't want this to become some big ol' bus ride across the worlds, now!" he said, and his companions laughed.

Tracey grinned. "Thanks! I'll get my stuff quick, hang on!" he said before turning and bolting back to his soon-to-become-vacant home.

Ash smiled at Lock. "Thank you so much, Lock," he said, bowing. "I need to go across the worlds so I can find my friends. Ummm...Do you guys have spare Gummi ships?" he asked.

The Agents sadly shook their heads. "Sorry, but we've been given a special ship," he said. "It's EBA property, has been for a while, actually. It's bring-your-own-ship, so if you don't mind being stranded again, come get a ride with us before getting a ship here."

Ash lowered his head in disappointment. "And who knows how long THAT will take?" he asked nobody. He nodded resolutely and looked up again. "I'll come," he decided.

''I'll have to come, too,'' Lucario said. ''I may be the reason we're going in the first place, but if Ash wants to go, I'm going, too.''

"Alright, then!" Lock said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "Let's wait until your friend comes and we're off!"

During this all, Ritz had been in a huddle with Marche, Mewt, Doned, Shara, and Montblanc. Now, she lifted her head and squeaked a little. "Okay, guys, gotta decide!" (-Sounds of agreement-) "Oh, okay! That was quick..." The huddle disbanded and Ritz ran over. "Hey, Ash?" she called.

"Huh?" Ash turned and looked at her. "What's up, Ritz?" he asked.

Ritz put her hands behind her back. "Could you stay here for a little bit? We...want to give you something before you go."

Ash blinked in surprise at this. "Huh? Uuuuh...Fine by me, but..." He looked at the Agents.

They smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "We're not really in any hurry," they told him.

Ash smiled and nodded to Ritz. "Alright, I'll stick around for a bit longer," he said.

Ritz smiled and bowed a bit. "Thanks!" After taking a good look at him, she turned and ran back to the group. "Okay, guys, let's get going!" she said before they all ran off into a store.

"Excuse me, Ash?"

Ash turned again and found the leaders of the divisions in front of him. He smiled and asked, "Yes?"

The leaders smiled and bowed. "We promise to do all that we can do, and to do our best, while you're away," said the leader of the Gateway Division, who was in the lead. "Thank you very much for never giving up, even though we all brushed you off when you tried recruiting us! If you had, who knows? Maybe Ritz's idea would never have been made a reality! We'll be sure to do our best to defend Traverse Town! We'll make you and everyone else who helped make it proud of the Traverse Town Defense Corps!" They saluted him with, to his immense surprise, his signiture fist-raised-near-face pose.

Ash blushed brightly and grinned sheepishly. "Th-Thanks, guys," he said, "b-but...you don't have to make up a salute like that, really!!" They laughed as he turned even redder.

"Alright, we'll just make it a normal salute, then," said the Gateway Division leader, and they changed to a normal salute. "Good luck, and try to visit us again!"

"We will!" Ash said, nodding with a resolute smile.

-'-,-'-

Later, Ash, Lucario, and Tracey were in Nono's shop when a knock on the door came. "Kupo?" Nono turned his head to the door. "Door's open, kupo!"

"Is Ash in there?" came a voice. It sounded like Ritz.

"Yup, kupo!"

The door opened and all of the FFTA fighters came in. Ritz was smiling. "Say, Ash?" she asked. "Are your clothes sturdy enough to withstand combat for long?"

Ash raised his eyebrows at this. "Uuuuh..." He held out his vest and looked. It was, indeed, a bit beaten. "Well, I'd rather save it for when I'm just traveling around, since my mom made it for me..."

Ritz giggled as she and Marche walked over, holding a package. "We thought you might need these, then," Marche said. They placed the package on the table in front of Ash.

Ash raised his eyebrows and opened it. He gasped and laughed as he held up a hat. It was a lot like his old League hat, mostly red with a white front part and bearing the green Pokémon League "L" on it. However, behind it was the symbol that adorned his hat most of the time these days, the top half of a pokéball. It was simply blue and a symbol, not very detailed. A few half-circle lines, intersecting into a nice design, were sewn onto the bill of the cap where it met the hat part. He tried it on and adjusted it with the buckle in back. "It's perfect!" he said. "Thanks!"

"There's more, kupo!" Montblanc said.

"Really?" Ash asked, and he looked into the package again. He gasped as he brought out more items of clothing. "WOW!" He first pulled out a black t-shirt with a white chain-stencil design wrapping around the front and over the shoulders to the back. A white pokéball symbol was in the center. "That's awesome!" He lay that out and brought out something that made his jaw drop. "Woah."

A short-sleeve jacket met strongly reminded him of the one he wore when he was starting on his pokémon journey. The torso was a vest of blue material, hemmed at the bottom by golden yellow. A clasp button at the collar was golden yellow, too. The collar itself was blue with a white lining showing from the inside, making it have a border of blue cloth around it. On each brest of the vest was a small pocket with one silver button holding them shut. Near the bottom on each side was a red, half-circle-shaped pocket that zipped shut with brass zippers. He could put his hands in there if he wanted to, similar to a hoodie pocket. Between these pockets was a yellow, pointed strip of fabric that fastned to a silver button. They appeared to be tighteners, but there were no more holes along them, so they appeared to be for style. On the back part was a large, single-button-fastened pocket that he could reach into and pull things out of a la Naruto. He saw a unique symbol covering most of the back. It was like a pokéball, but instead of a normal center and a thick black line, there were merely two halves--red and white--of a circle underneath a compass in the center. The compass was a basic, black-and-white eight-pointed star. Well, it was two four-pointed stars laid one on top the other, the top bigger than the other and being the one that would point in the cardinal directions. No symbols or words were on it, however, so it was just for design.

The sleeves were white with a blue gradiant wash to the sleeves starting halfway in. Two small blue-hemmed mesh pockets with fabric flaps, fastened again by silver buttons, were on the sleeves on the top if the piece of clothing was laid out into a "T". Halfway down the sleeves were a strip of tannish fabric that wrapped halfway around loosely, apparantly for decoration. The cuffs were rolled out and had a blue zig-zag pattern on them.

Ash just gaped at the main attraction to the clothing he found inside the box. "How...What...Wow," was all he could say. "Thanks!" He set it down and looked in. "But, wait, there's more!" he joked, bringing the next piece out.

A pair of light blue blue jeans was now in his hands. They were jean-cargoes, it appeared, with a cargo pocket on the side of each leg. Another pocket covered it, though. This one was different from any pocket he'd ever seen before. On the front, its side was taller than the cargo pocket, but the back held a side that was half the cargo pocket's size. Between the two sides was a piece of loose fabric, making a unique pocked that can hold small objects, but is mainly for show. He had otherwise normal five-pocket jeans on the top half. The bottom half was interesting: A bit past the knee began a two-inch-thick strip of denim that was just a bit darker than most of the jeans. An inch-thick strip of still darker denim was after that, and finally the rest was dark blue denim. They were sewn together quite well, and the jeans looked very durable. With them came a belt that was, coincedentially, exactly like the one he wore when first starting his journey. He thanked them for this one and found the last items at the bottom.

First he brought out a pair of fingerless gloves with holes for his first finger joints(well, the ones that connect to the hands. I don't think they're called knuckles, are they? That's the part between the joints on the finger, right?). They were green with light green cuffs and hems of the fingers. The hem of the thumb was green because the thumb was colored light green, mostly. The light green thumb wasn't just sewn on plain and straight, but it sort of went in a curving, semi-tribal design to it. On the back of the gloves was the compass symbol from before, minus the pokéball. The palm side of the gloves was covered in grip patches of dark green, leathery material. The light green of the thumbs barely had space around the grip patch on it. The grip patches on the fingers were triangular, like claws. He smiled and tried them on. "They feel great!" he commented. He couldn't help but do a few punches in the air with them. He took them off and placed them aside. 'They look a lot like my first gloves, too,' he thought. 'This is so weird, but so cool at the same time...'

The last items were some white socks--nothing special--and a pair of sneakers. On the inside edge, there was a sort of arrowy line design, and on the outside, the same pattern lay but with smooth curves instead of angles. The heel was just two vertical lines separating them with a rectangle between them. The toe was covered with a bit of steel with three oblong holes in them showing the sides of the shoe and the tounge beneath. Another bit of metal, this one starting at the point the metal beneath it does and coming just in front before ending in a point, appeared to be made of white-colored steel. The shoe itself was mostly colored very dark green, with a patch in the back and one on each side, as well as the strips holding the holes for the grey laces, colored blue. This allowed the dark red tounge to be implemented without looking like it was a Christmas-color theme. The soles were grey with dark (but brighter) blue sections at the toe and heel. The main difference between normal shoes and these were the fact that these had chains on them. On the centers of the blue spots and right beneath the "cuff" of the shoe on the heel were each one little steel loop. These loops were what the chains hung from. The one in back was actually a small ring that the small, rectangularish chains went from, but it was still part of the chain. The metal that made the chains was also steel.

(Yeah, changed some colors on him, too. Same reason: Tack-KAY! ESPECIALLY the shoes!) He looked at the outfit and just smiled at them, amazed. "Wow," he said finally. "These are really cool! Thank you, guys!"

The clans and non-clanners smiled and nodded, or chuckled, or said something. "Try them on, kupo!" encouraged Montblanc.

Ash nodded. "Alright," he said, getting the clothing and standing up. He looked around. "Uuuuh...anyplace I could change?" he asked.

Everyone just stopped and went, "Uuuuuuuuuh..." before Nono looked behind him at the counter. "Well, if you don't mind showing everyone your scrawny upper body, you can get behind the counter, here, kupo," he suggested, pointing behind him.

Ash half-eyed him. "I'm not scrawny," he said. "I'm lean." He hopped behind there and ducked down, deciding to just hide underneath it entirely. Nono respectfully hopped off and nobody leaned over to look. After Ash took off his shoes, gloves, pants, belt, vest, hat, and shirt, the sounds of the new clothing sliding on were heard. With a final zip, Ash let out a sigh. "There we go!" Then, without warning, he hopped over the counter again (nearly squishing poor Nono in the process). He stood and spread his arms out. "So, how do I look?" he asked.

Lucario raised an eyebrow as the ensemble came together. The blue theme worked fairly well, with the warm colors and the green accenting it quite well. It was all fairly good, and the shoes didn't look as bad as they could have been. All in all, the outfit that essentially turned out to be a remix of his first outfit worn on his journey fit fairly well. The FFTA folks clapped or nodded, making good comments. Ash turned around and showed that the large concentration of red from the pokéball helped make looking at his back better, in some ways, than his front. After he turned back, Marche asked, "Well, how do you think YOU look?" He pointed behind Ash to Nono, who had revealed a mirror he got from somewhere in the shop.

Ash raised his eyebrows and looked at himself. "Woah, I swear, did you guys do this on purpose?" he laughed, looking at himself. "I mean, this is a lot like the outfit I wore around when I first started my pokémon journey." He looked back at them and smiled.

The FFTA warriors started in genuine surprise. "Really?" Ritz asked. "Honestly, we had no idea! We just picked out some stuff we thought you might like and, truth be told, stuck on some extra stuff to make it look cool. I hope it's not outside your style..."

Ash shook his head. "No, not really," he said. "I mean, sure, I'm used to more plain-looking stuff, but this is really cool! I love it!" He chuckled and grinned. "I think I'm going to wear this while I'm looking for my world, actually."

Marche smiled. "Good, that's the point of all this!" he said, chuckling. He walked over and held something in his palm. "We also worked together with Nono for a while and made you another thing. It's a special badge." Ash looked at it. It was a basic-looking picture of Earth showing the side Japan was on surrounded by white, thick lines that formed an eight-pointed sunburst. Yellow triangles formed the rays of it. It was like a kid's drawing of a sun with Earth instead of a yellow circle. It was also made exactly like a badge normally is. Ash took it and looked at it in wonder. "Those clothes are also enchanted," Marche continued. "If you wear certain badges, you'll be able to use special magic spells. Since you probably won't be able to get other badges, though, it'll turn any spell you learn into a badge. They only work if you clip them to the fabric, and the reason those yellow strips on your jacket are there is to protect the badges from harm while you're fighting."

Ash smiled and clipped the badge to the inside of his jacket. "Naw, it'll be alright," he said. "There's two layers of fabric. I'll just clip them to the first layer like I did when I was in the Kanto, Orange, and Johto leagues and had to collect badges."

"So you DO collect badges normally?" Ritz asked. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, we wanted to remind you of home a little bit."

Ash laughed a bit and grinned at her. "It does! Thank you very much!" he said. "What does this badge do, then?" he asked, opening up his vest to show it to them.

"It allows you to combine your power with Lucario's and do something called a Drive, kupo!" explained Montblanc. "We heard about Sora and his adventures, and we thought that his clothes' ability to let him use Drive forms would be useful to you, kupo! Just summon the power of Lucario into you and you'll change. Try it during a battle, kupo!"

Ash raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Lucario as this was explained. Lucario was equally surprised as he stood and walked over. "I guess we'll have to," Ash said to Lucario.

''It sounds interesting,'' Lucario agreed, nodding. ''Let's try it during a battle we know we can win normally, however, first, though,'' he advised.

"Right, just to test it out," Ash agreed. He looked back at Clan Nutsy and the other (fake (grr)) Ivalice-dwellers and bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, everyone!" he said. "I'll take care of your gifts and think of you!"

"Thanks! Just try and come back sometime, okay?" asked Marche. The clan turned to leave. "We'll look after the Traverse Town Defence Corps, too! Good luck finding your way back home!"

"Thanks! You, too!" Ash said, waving. The clan left and Ash was left with Lucario, Tracey, Nono, and the Agents, who had been standing to a side while waiting the whole time. They stepped out now. "Okay," Ash said, grabbing his other clothes and putting them in his bag and slinging it over his shoulders. "I'm ready."

"Alright, then," said Lock. He motioned for them to follow. "We're going out the front entrance."

They followed, saying bye to Nono. "You're welcome back anytime, kupo!" the moogle called back to Ash.

"Thanks! I hope to see you guys again sometime!" Ash said as he left. He had already said good-bye to Nurse Joy, saying that, if he could, he'd get some other Joys or healing units sent over ASAP. Now, as the Agents opened the big double doors, he walked out into the starry night to the edge of the world. 'Traverse Town...I'll see you again, someday,' he thought with a smile.


	9. 03: Pokéunion Again

**Bit 3: (Interlude)**

Ash dropped his jaw in awe as he, Tracy, and Lucario followed the Agents onboard their black Gummi Ship. The Pokémon and other human were equally amazed, but were being a little more mature about it. The interior of the bridge appeared sophisticated and sleek, with holographic monitors up all over the place, a smooth, black-and-dark blue color scheme, and leather seats numbering enough that they could sit and watch the action up-close. "This is awesome," Ash marveled.

Lock smirked and chuckled, looking over his shoulder. "Yeah, ain't it just?" he asked.

"This here's a ship the Commander's had tucked away deep within EBA HQ for a while, created as soon as he could get his hands on Gummi blocks," Meyers explained, going over to one of the side chairs in the front and hitting a few keys on his monitor.

"When our world was 'bout to bite the dust, we hauled our bee-hinds onto it and took off, savin' our hides from God knows what," Hunter added, getting to the other side chair and strapping in. "Y'oughtta park yo's ova in a seat, 'cuz this ain't no pleasure cruise," he instructed without looking.

While Tracy and Lucario walked over to a couple in the back of the room, Ash asked Lock, wearing a wry smile, "So, will he let you drive this one, at least?"

Lock, getting into the pilot's chair, stopped and turned his head. "Huh?..." Then he raised his eyebrows and chuckled in surprise, mirth, and a hint of grim humor, shaking his head. "Oh, heh, yeah, he's letting me drive this one," he answered. He shuddered for a split second before turning around and getting back into his chair. "Awright, you guys strapped in?" he asked.

Ash and Tracy were, but Lucario appeared to be confused. ''Erm...I'm unaccustomed to this device,'' he said, sweatdropping as he attempted to tie the angle strap to its connector with little success.

Ash laughed in the way that people do when they see someone totally helpless like that. "You're supposed to put the flat, metal hook thing into the slot until it clicks," he explained, leaning over and smiling sorrily at his friend, holding a hand up.

''Huh?'' Lucario stopped and blinked at Ash for a second, then looked down as he attempted it. When it securely fastened, he blushed. ''I feel embarressed...'' he grumbled.

The Trainers and the Agents, who were watching, chuckled a little uneasilly. "Well, we getchu, so try not to be embarressed," Hunter said. "You's from a differn' time, so whatchu gonna do when ya see sum'n' like that?"

Lucario nodded. ''Thank you for understanding.'' He looked somewhat nervously about. ''Erm, will this hurt at all?'' he asked.

"Yeah, like, we gonna be pushed back into our seats and made into pancakes like in a space shuttle?" Tracy wondered aloud.

"The way Lock drives?" Hunter smiled in semi-smug humor. "Probably."

"Course set," said a soft female voice from the speakers, making Lucario look around, momentarily confused as to where the woman was. "Destination: Melee Arena. Warp Drive or Manual?"

"Manual," Lock said with clear enunciation.

"Manual Drive selected. Please fasten your seatbelts--"

"--'cuz it's gonna be a BUMP-y ride!!" cut off Lock while the engines whined from a charge.

"Hold on tight, ya'll!" Hunter warned with a smile. Then, he joined in with his friends as they said, "Agents are..."

"GO!!"

FWOOOOM!

Ash, Tracy, and Lucario were thrust into their seats a bit as Lock gunned the engine, taking off with every ounce of enthusiasm for Gummi ship piloting as Maru.

**-'-,-'-**

A wild Gummi ship ride later, the ship floated down to Melee Arena. Instead of stopping above the world like a normal Gummi ship, it went down into it. As it approached, a metal door opened on the side of the world's bottom to allow them inside.

Lock guided them through an ironclad tunnel with lights at regular intervals at a lower speed than he had been going before. He slowed to a halt as they entered a hangar. He turned the ship around in midhover after stopping and, at last, landed. "WOO!" whooped the Agent as he unbuckled. "I NEVER get tired of flying this thing!" He laughed like a little boy coming off of a roller coaster he enjoied.

"YEAH! Damn tight, man," Hunter complimented, standing and slapping his black palm to Lock's tanned. He'd been the one who fired the side guns. "Nary a scratch onnis baby!"

"With the way you go, though, I'm surprised the Commander hasn't even given you an eyebrow raise yet," Meyers commented, getting up and stretching. He'd handled the rear guns. The ship had guns all around it to protect it, each custom made to give the ship more of a spaceship appearance than a Gummi ship one. He turned to Ash, Tracy, and Lucario. "You guys aight?"

Tracy chuckled nervously whilst unbuckling and getting up, swaying slightly. "A little dazed, still, but otherwise intact!" he answered, giving a thumbs-up and a sweatdropping smile.

Ash grinned and leaped up after unbuckling. "That was AWESOME!" he exclaimed. "It was like a ride at a theme park, but way better!"

''It was, indeed, exciting,'' Lucario commented, figuring out to press the button before getting up with a semi-relieved expression, ''but I think Lock's just a little too...'' He searched for an appropriate word. ''...intractable...''

Lock grinned sheepishly before turning and beckoning with his arm. "C'mon, let's get over to the main Arena and get you registered, Lucario," he said before starting to walk off in the direction of the ship's entrance.

''Right,'' Lucario nodded before following the Agents out. Ash trailed in the back, walking next to his friend from the Orange Islands.

**Bit 3: Melee Arena**

They heard a woman's voice over the PA system almost as soon as they had left the ship. "Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter, please report to the Commander."

Hunter looked up. "D'aim, Foxx, you sound WAY too perfect fo' the secretary role," he grumbled.

Lock sighed and shook his head. "Great, I think I'm about to get that eyebrow raise," he told Meyers.

Meyers chuckled and shook his head. "Well, Ash, you wanna meet the Commander in person?" he asked.

Ash looked up with raised eyebrows. "Really? He wouldn't mind?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Lock answered. "C'mon, just follow us."

Tracy looked at Ash as they obliged. "I've GOT to get a detailed account of your time with these guys," he muttered to him, raising an eyebrow in a smirk.

Ash raised his eyebrows again, but not as high. "Uh, sure, but why all a sudden?" he asked.

"Because this boss of theirs must know you in some way if he wouldn't mind talking to you," he answered.

Ash "heh"'ed and shook his head, smiling. "Nah, I only sorta talked sometimes when he called these guys on their badges and when he would call me on Lock's old--" He stopped short and gasped, a look of horror on his face.

"What?" Tracy asked, looking at him.

"Uh, Lock?" Ash asked softly.

Lock turned and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked.

Ash made a sorry face. "I lost your old badge when I was sucked from my world to Destiny Islands," he explained. "I'm sorry if that's going to get you in trouble."

Lock made the kind of sigh of humorous relief people make when they were expecting something worse, putting a hand to his chest. "Oh, okay; yeah, don't worry," he said reassuringly with a smirk, "he gave me a new badge after I came back here. Plus, we're in the same sorta multiverse thing, now, anyway, and it won't be hard to get to you, now. We'd just use a Gummi ship, like we did to get Luc."

'''Luc'?'' Lucario repeated, raising an eyebrow and lifting his dreads a little at the nickname (which sounded like "Luke").

"I dunno why he'd really want to contact you nowadays, anyway, though," Lock continued, looking thoughtful. "...Hm. Well, anyway, don't worry, since we probably won't need you that badly and we've got plenty of spare badges. It's not like one lost badge will ruin us, so don't worry."

Ash smiled in relief and nodded. "Thanks. Let's go, huh?" he asked, making his smiling-Ash face.

''Really, why 'Luc'?'' Lucario muttered, crossing his arms and pouting slightly as he walked after the young men in black.

They went to the only door out, which was up an open-sided elevator. The group went through the door and into the depths of the Arena. A short hallway connected to a wide corridor faced them, technology and sophistocation surrounding with each step. Black, light blue, and white were the order of the day for colors, with the latter two being mostly for the lighting, be they from normal lamps or from seemingly decorative lines in the walls, floor, and ceiling. It was pretty advanced. "A lot like HQ, actually," Lock commented when Ash mentioned the scenery. "That's partially why we're down here."

They went on until they found a large chamber behind two sliding doors. Upon entering, they discovered a dazzling array of video displays, monitors, and television screens. Each one of them showed a different area of the world: Stands, apartments, the shopping corridors, the first-floor corridors, the halls below the place they stood in now, and the arena itself, to name a few known locales. Below, in the center of the large circular room, was a grand, shining, slowly-rotating globe of what appeared to be illuminated glass. It was the Smash logo in 3d. A few different people were working at different stations found on the elevated walkway around the room that served as the traversable floor; there appeared to be no safe or practical way to get down to the level of the Smash sphere. In dead-center of the walkway leading from the double doors sat a grey-haired man behind a circular desk. He was currently turned around and looking at the screens, restinging his chin on steepled fingers (or his fist in a palm; it was unclear, since the position of his elbows was the only indication of his posture).

Lock, Meyers, and Hunter stopped, standing in formation before the desk. Behind them, Lucario grabbed Ash. ''Respect superiors,'' he sent to him. He and Tracy stood patiently and waited. Ash nodded and did the same, if a little less patiently.

"Lock, Meyers, Hunter," addressed the man in a gruff voice at length. "Thank you for bringing the Brawler safely." He spun around and revealed himself to be the aviators-wearing, rarely-smiling Commander Kahn Ash had seen sometimes before while the Agents were traveling with him. He stood and gave a thumbs-up while he did so, but made no sound apart from, "Good job!"

"MISSION COMPLETE!" the Agents went in unison, making Lucario and Tracy sweatdrop.

Kahn sat back down and laced his fingers once more (?). "You may go and rest now, Meyers and Hunter," he said. "DIS-MISSED!"

"YESSIR!" the backups saluted before departing out of a door to their right.

"Lock, you will stay and direct Lucario to the registration booth in front," Kahn continued.

"Yessir!"

Kahn nodded. "Now, then...Ash Ketchum, Tracy Sketchitt, Lucario, would you come forth, please?" he called, looking at them from behind his shades.

Ash, Tracy, and Lucario nodded before walking forth. Lock stepped aside to let them get front and center. Lucario then bowed to one knee and the Trainers just bowed. ''It is a pleasure to meet you, sir,'' Lucario said.

"Yeah, it's great to finally talk to you face-to-face, Commander Kahn," Ash smiled out of his bow.

"I am honored to make the aquaintance of such an important man, sir," Tracy greeted, doing the same as Ash.

Commander Kahn nodded. "You may rise, Lucario; I'm not the kneeling type," he said, motioning with a hand. Lucario rose. "Right. Ash, it is nice to finally speak to you in person...if not more than a little odd, if you can understand," he continued, surpressing a sweatdrop. "But, with all that has been happening since even the time you first met Agent Lock and his friends, I have become more accustomed to this kind of thing. I would like to take this time to thank you personally for looking after my Agents while they were traveling with you." He stood and gave a very good Japanese bow to Ash.

Ash blushed and put a hand on the back of his neck while Tracy raised his eyebrows at his friend. "Aw, shucks, it was nothing," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I had fun with them...except for near the end...so it's all paid back, I guess."

Kahn, sitting once more, nodded curtly. "I suppose so. From Lock's report, you are traveling with Lucario without a world, correct?" he asked. Ash nodded. He turned to Tracy. "And you are here to meet Professer Oak, having abandoned your apartment in Traverse Town, Tracy?" he asked the artist, who nodded as well. "Then we shall grant each of you an apartment here at Melee Arena, which is what we have done for the Pokémon Prof. You will be able to eat, sleep, and watch matches...as well as participate in the occasional pokémon battle tournament," he added with a small glint in his eye.

Ash gasped in happy surprise, then made his Ash pose--determined smile and held fist. "Alright! That's something I've been missing for a while!"

Tracy sweatdropped and tilted his head, smiling with eyes closed. "Well, I guess it'll be more controlled here than the constant battling back in Traverse Town," he silver-lined. 'Just when you think you're outta the woods...'

Kahn smirked behind his steepled fingers for a moment. "I thought you'd like that, Ash. Now, Lucario," he addressed, turning to the pokémon.

''Yes, sir?'' he asked, standing still and respectful.

"Congratulations on being chosen to be a Brawler," the Commander complimented. "It is a position given only to a select few. Ash is very lucky to be friends with--more than one." Ash (standing normally again) and Tracy tilted their heads--Ash at the pause and Tracy at the fact itself--but politely said nothing. "You will be given a special 'stamp' that will allow you to instantly be teleported upon being called for a Brawl, which is an arena match held here. No, they are not exactly like battles or arena matches you might be used to, given the time you are from."

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ''You...know of my...?'' he asked before grunting and shutting up, worried he'd stepped out of line.

Kahn nodded. "The gist. You were sealed inside the head of your master's staff for hundreds of years and released when Ash, whose aura was similar to his, held it. Professor Oak told me about it." (That last sentence sounded like he was very confident in his memory. Very confident.) "Anyway, you will also be given a one-room apartment and living necessities. You are safe while here if you abide by the rules and don't poke your snout where it doesn't belong. Understood?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucario nodded, flopping his dreads around. ''Yessir!''

Kahn secretly glanced at Ash before speaking again. "Then that'll be all," he finished. "DIS-MISSED!!"

''"YESSIR!"'' saluted the humans (even Tracy) and nodded Lucario. Lock turned and beckoned again. "Well, c'mon, you three, let's get you set up so you can have some fun," he called, and they followed him out of the room through the left-hand door.

Lock led them through some hallways and corridors, going this way and that. Ash was soon confused as to where they were heading and just tried to follow Lock. Tracy was too busy beholding the structure of the place and looking at the different people--some not human--who walked past them. 'Must be people who work here,' Ash thought, noticing them as well. This was confirmed when he was almost run over sideways by a short frog that had come barreling out of a door. "Woah! Careful, Slippy, we don't want you or whatever the R&D folks and you made getting hurt!" Lock laughed, stopping and holding a hand.

Slippy just gave a chuckle and hoisted himself up. "Heh, sorry, just had to tell Foxx I think I've figured out why her new device isn't getting that extra 5% more efficiency out of it that it ought to," he apologized.

"Alright, have fun," Lock bade as the frog scampered down the hall. "R&D geek from Fox's world," he explained to the others. "He's an invention fanatic. He hangs out with our own resident genius-slash-techie, Diva Foxx, and builds stuff with her."

"Um, okay," Ash said, still a little dazed from the otherworlder running into him.

"I get it," Tracy said, smiling and nodding.

''I'm just going to pretend I do,'' Lucario said, sweatdropping. (The technology references were slightly foreign to him.) Lock laughed.

Lucario, by the way, was busy doing something else while walking behind Lock. He was occasionally using his aura vision to look at the aura of the halls. Ash noticed this, but made no comment.

Finally, after about ten turns, they reached a set of stairs. "Alrighty, guys," Lock said over his shoulder, "this set of stairs leads up to the surface. It's authorized personnel only, so try not to try getting back in, alright?" he asked. They nodded. He went to the wall and pulled out a device sort of like a gun, but the barrel was as big around (and the same shape) as an oval hand mirror. "Lucario, hold up the back of your paw," he instructed. "We're light stamping you to let you in as a Brawler." The pokémon followed orders and soon had a Smash symbol on his paw, the intersection of it punctured by his spike. Ash and Tracy recieved visitor light stamps on the backs of their other hands. Lock put the device back into the box on the wall it came from.

Once that was done, the group followed up three or four large flights in classic switchback style. They stopped at a door marked 1F and Lock opened it. He held it open for the others before closing it. Ash stopped to look around. There wasn't much to see, except that they were in a big tunnel, as evidenced by semicircle-shaped holes of light on either side; they couldn't see the door they just came out of unless they used a flashlight; and two looming forms were at the left, closer end. The air and floor felt a little dusty. Behind him, he heard Lucario turn on his aura vision (dreads going up making the noise).

"Over here," Lock said, clapping to tell where he was.

''I know,'' Lucario said, walking to him and grabbing the hands of the Trainers to their slight surprise, tugging once to get them walking in the right direction. He and the others followed Lock as he went to the two figures. As they walked, Ash could see slightly better, eyes getting accustomed to the darkness, and he could see the two figures as being bouncers.

"Gus, Mo, these guys are with me," Lock said to the one on the left. To the three, he said, "Show them your stamps."

They did as told, Ash noticing a tingling as the back of his hand let the symbol glow. 'It feels like my aura is being used, but I'm not using it,' he noted. 'Only a little, but...'

The bouncers nodded and stopped the Trainers. "Sorry, only Brawlers can go straight forwards past here," one said, hands out and keeping them back.

"Gus, they're here to get quarters," Lock told the big man. "Unless, of course, they want to take a seat and watch for a few," he added, smirking to Ash and Tracy.

Tracy shrugged. "I want to go where Prof. Oak is, if that's not too much," he said.

"Then you'd better go to the door over there," indicated Mo, the second one of the two (silent before now; they had the same voice, however, it sounded), pointing left of him. A dim green light shone over a barely-seen sidewalk. "Take that walk all the way around through some big double doors. That's where the quarters are. Agent Lock will set you up."

Tracy sweatdropped. "I...can't see the path except for the part lit by that light," he muttered.

"I can barely see it without that light," Ash murmured, looking at Tracy. "I guess my eyes are better than yours...?"

Tracy smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "I never did like carrots..."

''I wish to accompany Ash,'' Lucario told the bouncers.

"Sorry, sir," said Gus, "but you must participate in the next Brawl as a Newcomer, and as soon as possible."

"We'll be fine, Lucario," Ash assured his friend when the dread-bearing Fighting-/Steel-type turned to him. He smiled and waved. "Have fun, and do your best!"

''I...shall try,'' Lucario nodded before reluctantly walking forwards down the way.

Lock stepped to the right of the Trainers. "I'll take you to Prof. Oak, so follow me a little longer, alright?" he asked.

Tracy nodded and started after, but Ash made an indecisive face. After a moment, he looked at them. "Go on; I'm going to watch until Lucario's match comes up," he said.

"Alright," Tracy said, smiling and waving. "Have fun!"

"Enjoy the Arena! And if you get hungry, go to the...third or second floor for concessions," Lock bade, pausing to remember. "And keep an eye out for me, too, since I'm up soon for announcing duties in a while!"

Ash bade farewell and turned to the bouncers. "Uhm...Where's the place to go for the stands?" he asked, a little intimidated.

"Through that place there," Gus replied, thumbing over his right shoulder. Another green light hung over an archway on the left wall. "Enjoy the competition!" the bouncer said, sounding more friendly for a change.

Ash relaxed and smiled, nodding, before thanking them and walking up the steps after the archway. Light almost blinded him as the tannish, dusty arena met his eyes. He gaped as he saw the largest amount of spectators (of all sorts, too) sitting in a stadium at the same time he'd ever seen--and he'd seen more than a couple full houses in his training career. "...Woah..." He chuckled as he mused, 'It'd be awesome if we all did the wave, though I bet that got old a couple days ago.'

He made his way around, looking for a good seat. 'I wish I had friends to sit with,' he thought. Sitting in the stands reminded him of the times he'd watched May or Dawn (or both, if memory serves correctly) at Contests (and whenever he watched battles in tournaments he'd been disqualified from), and he sighed, frowning. 'I miss them. I really miss them.' He looked up, a seriously determined look on his face. 'I'm going to get to wherever they are!' he thought resolutely.

He looked at the center and saw a Brawl taking place, though he had no idea what it was that was going on. Currently in the Thunder Falls (I think?) stage were Mario, DK, Samus, and King Dedede. On the billboard visible (barely) behind it was a readout that said there were five minutes left in the match. "Woah..." Ash watched for a minute, trying to understand the rules of the side-scrolling fight. He shook his head and walked up the stairs, trying to find a good seat.

'I think I'll check out that place Lock talked about until Lucario's up,' he thought. 'And maybe I'll get to figure out what's going on with the battles...' He got up to the circular, third-floor concession corridor and saw all kinds of folks walking around. It was packed, but there was still decent room. "It's sorta like a mall in here," he muttered.

He walked slowly as he gazed about. Shops for different things from clothes to souvenirs to food were all over the place. Normal humans, anthropomorphic animal space aces, and even medivally-dressed elves (well, that's what he assumed for the people with pointed ears) went past him. And in both cases, he saw things that reminded of home. He saw a Pokémart being constructed (its sign was finished) and a couple people walking with their pokémon behind them.

He stopped and slumped, depressed. "...Pikachu..." he muttered. "Where are you...?" Memories of his friend came to him, and he closed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Pikachu...!" he whispered. Quiet tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Pika?"

"Huh?" Ash looked around for the source of the sound for a second. He sighed and stopped. "I'm hearing things," he said quietly. "I have to be." He didn't notice that, essentially, people were making a wide space around him as they went by, not noticing him except for his physical presence.

"Pika?"

He turned and looked down a little bit. His breath caught as, right there, a male (no tail notch) pikachu stood, looking up at him in wonder. When their eyes met, the pokémon gasped and started, jaw opening. "...No way..." Ash breathed.

"P...Pikapi...?" the pikachu asked tentatively.

Ash blinked, then rubbed his eyes once. He quickly turned around to look behind him, the thought entering his head that it might be someone else the pokémon saw, not him. Nobody else was standing still or paying heed to the Electric-type. He turned back to the yellow creature and asked, in the same manner, "...Pikachu...?...Is that...really you...?" 'I hope so, otherwise I'll be SO embarressed...'

The pikachu's eyes began to glisten and mouth began to curl up into a triangle smile. "Pikapi...!" The mouse's voice was one of amazed, relieved, excited, and crying happiness.

Ash did the same, though his mouth remained closed in a smile. "Pikachu...!"

They stood for a few seconds before both cried each other's names and dashed forwards.

"PIKAPIII!!"

"PIKACHUUU!!"

When they were feet apart, Ash spread his arms as Pikachu leaped up into them. Pikachu made a happy noise while Ash gasped, "Pikachu!!" and spun him around from the leap's momentum. "It's you! It's really you! I can't believe it!!" He stopped and looked at him, both smiling and crying in sheer joy. "It feels like it's been forever, buddy!" Ash told him. "I've really missed you!"

Pikachu nodded, agreeing. "Pi, pikacha!"

Ash hugged him again, like a child hugs a favorite plushie they'd given up for lost. "Oh, man, I'm so happy! I thought I'd never see you again..." Ash smiled and parted again, letting Pikachu do whatever by holding him with his arms as a platform. Pikachu chose to come to his shoulder.

"Piiika-pikaa!" he squeaked happily, rubbing his cheek up to Ash's.

Ash laughed and scritched behind an ear. "Good to be together again, eh, buddy?" he asked.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu agreed, sounding like he was saying, "And how!"

Ash sighed and shook his head. "Haaahhhh...Man, have I got a story to tell," he said.

Pikachu looked around Ash, eyeing his outfit. "Ka pika?" he asked.

Ash grinned. "Yeah, I got a new outfit while this whole thing's goin' on," he said, holding his vest's flaps. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Pi-hi-ka!" the pokémon laughed, smiling adorably as he nodded. He was about to, in his language, make a comment when the crowd outside roared. Pikachu's face went from smile to intent frown as he looked up, flicking his ears attently. He raised his eyebrows and gasped after the stadium went a little dark and a siren sounded. "Pikhaaahhh?!" He tugged Ash's collar with one paw while pointing through a door to the stands with the other, making sounds of urgency. Around them, many people stopped to look out the windows to the inside of the arena.

"Huh?" Ash asked, making his dumb-Ash face before getting the gist. "Oh, you wanna go out there?" he asked.

"A NEWCOMER APPROACHES!!" came the booming voice of the announcer.

Ash remembered suddenly and jumped. "YIKES! LUCARIO!!" he cried. He grabbed onto Pikachu while he dashed out. "He's up now!!"

Pikachu raised his eyebrow quizzically as Ash nearly fell down the stairs and squawked as he stopped quickly, nearly flinging the little guy off. He hung off a shoulder mesh bag and had to scramble back up to his perch. He looked daggers at Ash breifly over his shoulder as he did, but stopped as he noticed the field change to Pokémon Stadium 2.

It was a normal 2:00 battle between Link, Marth, Ike...and Lucario.

Pikachu gasped at this. "Pika--?!" he went.

"Yup!" Ash said happily, grinning from ear to ear. "The same Lucario we met when we were doing the Battle Frontier in Kanto!"

Pikachu's jaw dropped. "Piii...kakaa...chaaa..." he muttered, astounded. 'Isn't he supposed to be DEAD?!' he thought, feeling a little creeped out.

The battle began, with poor Lucario unsure of what to do. He was also uncomfortable with the fact he felt himself forced to do only certain things--for instance, he couldn't travel more than a foot to his left or right. He saw three swordsmen in front of him, however, and knew that he had to do battle. 'Alright, let's see what we can do,' he thought as he got into stance and the Brawl began.

Ash was standing and watching for a good ten seconds before someone called to him. Pikachu had to gently tug his ear before he turned to notice. He stopped as familiarity struck him before remembrance did. "...Travis??"

Sitting next to a couple humans--one with a hat and another with glasses--was a formidable werewolf with gorgeously kick-ass wild hair. He currently wore a golden yellow tank that allowed his puffy chest fur to spill out and cover the front, as well as blue jeans and what appeared to be specially-made brown leather sandals. He smirked and nodded, arms crossed. "In the fur," he replied. He patted an empty spot on the bench next to him. "C'mon, sit down!"

Ash smiled and accepted the offer. "Thank you," he said, then turned right back to the match, frowning in worry as Lucario didn't look like he was doing so hot. "Er...I'd love to catch up and all on how things have been since we last met, but what exactly's going on?" he asked. "Like, what're the rules?"

"Simple," Travis answered. Ears perked high and tail still, he looked back as well, intent to watch the resident of his world. "Lucario there is limited in movement--it's like a side-scroller mixed with a fighting game, but in real motion," he explained. Ash nodded. (I'm assuming many youth in Japan understand game terms like that...) "Each Brawler has two minutes in this standard fight to get the most KOs, or really ring-outs. The more Lucario's hit, the farther he'll be flung when hit by a strong attack, like that," he continued, pointing when Link hit him with a strong slash. "They don't get really hurt, but it still hurts," he added, grimacing. "Now, when they go out of bounds too far, they get KOed. They lose a point and the KOer gets one. You lose one if you self-destruct, accidentially KOing yourself. The one with the most points wins; a tie results in Super Sudden Death, where basically it's one good hit and you're gone. Lucario'd better figure out how to use his limited moveset, or else he's dead..." He whined in worry. "I don't want a rep from our world to lose...!"

"I don't want my friend to lose," Ash agreed. "What's this moveset?"

"You get four special moves and an array of normal attacks, as well as three chargable, strong melee attacks called Smash attacks, and finally four throws," listed Travis. "You also get a double jump and can dodge and defend. If you use a special move midair that can help you get back onto the stage and are still in the air, you cannot do much more except slightly guide your fall--and hope you can grab the edge, usually. I THINK getting hit again disrupts this, and you can do stuff again if you survive."

Lucario was KOed, making the bench wince.

The pokémon, though, had gathered what was going on by then. After he landed from his recovery platform, he took a deep breath. 'Alright...I think I have it.' He opened them again and dodged just in time to avoid a sword swing from Ike. He grabbed him from behind and threw him back, then dodged back to avoid a strike. He sidestepped Link's downward stab attack and Force Palmed him point-blank. He jumped and used an upwards attack at Marth, who was coming down to him, and met in a clash midair. He continued on, now much better than before. He smirked in triumph as he KOed Ike, his KOer. 'Vengance--something only acceptable in competition,' he defined. '...Well, usually.' He backed off while the swordsmen fought each other for a moment and slowly charged an Aura Sphere. It took a couple seconds, and it was small, but he launched, anyway. (It missed, sadly.)

Things went on better for the newcomer, but he was still hit hard. In annoyance, he charged up another Aura Sphere. To his and Ash's surprise, it was quicker to come and even bigger than himself! 'It appears the more damage I take, the stronger my aura becomes!' he mused, keeping the attack before dodging. He fought for a little longer (finding that, as he had noticed in the Switch Armor battle, his downwards Double Kick indeed inflicted a relatively large amount of damage) before, at the best moment, unleashing the Aura Sphere. It exploded and sent Marth screaming like a rocket off to the side, KOing him.

He also managed to get the general idea of the Smash Ball after being hit by Link's Triforce Slash and KOed. Although he couldn't do the dramatic plan Maru had carried out to get his first Smash Ball, he got it and felt the power wash over him. 'My aura...!' For a split second, he stopped and gaped at himself, glowing in every color of the rainbow while looking a bit menacing. 'It's ready to burst out of my body, it's in such supply...!' He looked around and narrowed his eyes at his competitors. 'Sir Aaron...I think it's time to use that attack you taught me...'

He crouched, paw to ground, as he prepared to jump up HIGH. 'Now!' He jumped. ''Watch the power of aura!!'' He soared up high until he was in the distance, hanging in midair before the great LCD monitor in the background of the stage. He raised his paws above his head, channeling nearly all of his aura into one attack. White and blue light shone about his palms before he completed the charge and, with an almighty roar, thrust them down and fired a HUGE beam of aura at the stage.

'AURA STORM!!' he bellowed in his head.

He could slowly tilt left and right to direct the attack, and had to in order to get all three. He trained the attack at them, adjusting slightly as they, gradually being floated up during the constant damage (to Lucario's confusion until later, when he realized it was something done by the Brawl officials to make it somewhat fair), almost were allowed to escape the attack before it ended. When he felt his extra aura reserves almost depleted, Lucario finished the attack as he was taught, sending one final surge of energy out. This was powerful enough to eliminate all three swordsmen, sending them rocketing and soaring away. Poor Marth yelled as he flew off into the distance, becoming a star. Lucario, done with the attack, pushed himself with the last bit of extra aura out back to the stage to return to normal. He smirked and wiped his brow during the brief respite he had. 'Phew...It worked. Sir Aaron...' He looked into the starry sky above before Link's descending boot sole and, soon after, blade tip came down and blotted it out. '...I hope I made you proud.'

He was hit by the point and flew off like a bullet. Moments before he went out of sight, time slowed;

**"GAME!!"**

The stage faded out, the fighters vanished, the battlefield fell back down to the ground, and the podiums appeared. Agent Spin, MC this time, announced the results. "In fou'th place, we gots us...MARTH!! Well done, man!" Marth, appearing on the ground, sighed and clapped politely. "In third place, it looks like it's...IKE!! Good going, buddy!" Ike appeared on the third podium and humphed before shrugging and clapping as well. "Now, fo' second, it's..." Spin, standing in the booth, smirked as he glanced left and right, lifting the opposite eyebrow as he looked, building tension. "...LINK!! Awesome show, yo!" The hylian swordsman sheathed his sword and just clapped, nodding, after appearing.

Ash and Travis held their breath as they leaned forwards, mouthes hanging open into smiles. "ANNIS MEANS DAT DIS GAME'S WINNAH IIISSS--!!"

Lucario appeared on the top podium, holding an aura ball close to his chest between his paws. ''The aura...'' He thrust it up, exploding it stylishly above him as he gazed up determinedly. ''...is WITH ME!!'' (LIKE THEY _SHOULDA_ SAID!!)

"--LUCARIO!! Nice one, dawg!!" Spin finished as the crowd roared in applause. The board showed the stats. It appeared that Lucario was saved by the bell--had he been KOed in that last couple of seconds, it would have been a Super Sudden Death.

The Pokémon worlders stood and hollered (or howled) while clapping, grinning. "YEAH!! GREAT JOB, LUCARIO!!" Ash shouted, unsure if he would be heard.

Lucario looked around a little bit, searching for Ash. Suddenly, though, the podiums lowered to the ground.

"Awright, folks, we're gonna take a bit of a break, so go find sum'nna do for half an hour, aight?" Spin announced. "I'm out, ya'll--peace!"

Lucario was distracted further from his search with the good sportsmanshiplike handshakes between the others. Ike and Marth both complimented him--both of whom he could understand and to whom he replied in their languages--but Link, as expected, made little more than a respectful grunt. The pokémon turned to walk to the stands, wondering how to get up there while looking left and right. He got an idea. He kept walking while he closed his eyes and lifted his dreads before scanning about.

Ash saw this and smiled. "Thought he'd do that," he said.

"What? He's walking with his eyes closed, he nuts?" asked Frank, the guy with the hat.

Ash shook his head, smiling. "Nope, he's just using his ability to see waves, or aura," he answered. "I think he's looking for me, since my aura'd stand out from the crowd."

"Really?" Frank asked, smirking as he crossed his arms. "What makes YOU so special?"

Ash shrugged. "I have the same aura as Sir Aaron, the guy he originally was under literally ages ago," he answered. "It's a long story."

"Hey, we've got a while," Dorian, the glasses-wearer, said, smiling. "Wanna tell us?"

"Um..." Ash slanted his mouth, unsure. "...Maybe. How about we catch up, though? I'm going to wait here so he can find me, so we've got a little while yet," he offered instead, smiling.

Travis smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed.

"Pika," Pikachu said, sounding a bit disappointed as he looked over from his bench seat at Ash.

Ash looked down at him and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Pikachu, but we need to wait here for him, and, besides, this'll include what you've missed, too, if Lucario takes a while."

Pikachu made a happy smile and sound.

And so, finally, after what felt like forever, Pikachu rejoined Ash's party.

***-*-***

*Snake is walking through a room in the technical, underground part of Melee Arena. It looks like an office. A few cardboard boxes are strewn about. He hears someone coming and quickly gets by one, going into his own.*

Slippy: ...aded well, I take it? *is walking past, talking with Foxx*

Foxx: *nods* Yeah, it's working a HECK of a lot better!

*They walk past Snake, but both write off the box as a box.*

Foxx: Thank you so much! I seriously need to keep you around after this is all over, or at least build a communicator to use for you.

Slippy: *blushes* Awwwww, shucks...

*They walk out the door.*

*A few moments pass before a human scientist walks out, glancing at the boxes while he leaves, as well.*

Snake: *lets breath go* Alone at last...Thank goodness for these things.

Shiek: *in box next to him* Amen to that!

Snake: **!** *as an **!** appears above his box and the famous sfx plays*

***-*-***

Ugh, couldn't think of a good line for Shiek. Oh, well. Anyway, yeah, Ash & Pikachu are back together again in the worst reunion scene ever created. Yeah, sorry, but I'm not great with those. *sweatdrop/nervous smile*


	10. 03: Street Brawls

As Lucario walked into the stands, he found he had already obtained a few fans. He sweatdropped and fended off comments while walking through, grumbling in the back of his mind how they blocked his aura vision. After a time, he discovered the market corridor. 'This should be better, actually, than tip-toeing through the stands,' he thought, and decided to walk around there, watching out the windows. He kept an eye on his path of direction, as well, and noticed a large being standing in front of him a ways down the mall hall. It didn't appear to be moving away to let him past. So, Lucario moved around it, instead. He kept focused out at the windows, which, combined with his relative lateness in moving around the person, helped in his walking straight into a slightly fat, more-than-slightly muscular front.

"Oof! Hey, watch where yer goin' instead of showin' off! I hate it when people do stuff with their eyes closed!" came a loud, growly, deep voice.

Lucario opened his eyes after stumbling back from the bump (and slight bounce) and shook his head once he was standing still. He looked forwards and found that the large form had actually deliberately moved sideways to make them collide. Furthermore, it appeared to be a cross between a dragon, a punk rocker (complete with hair that he honestly thought was fire at first glance), and a gigantic turtle. Although he knew that there was most likely a negative reason he'd been blocked, the pokémon bowed breifly. ''Forgive me. I was looking for a friend,'' he said politely.

The creature humphed and crossed its meaty arms. "Peh! Forgive you?! You know who I am?" he asked, definitely male.

Lucario shook his head. ''No, I'm afraid not,'' he replied. Around them, people were either stopping or giving them a wide berth. Now that he thought about it, they were giving the turtle-dragon-rocker a lot of room, and he susupected it wasn't just from his size and appearance.

The creature grinned evilly and laughed. "Well, get back on your knees, 'cuz you're looking at the great Lord Bowser, king of the koopas, himself!!" he informed arrogantly, pointing to the ground with a claw.

Lucario raised an eyebrow. ''Royalty? I see no proof,'' he said.

Bowser smirked and clicked his claws. Almost instantly, part of the hall was filled with goombas and koopas. The king koopa himself raised an eyebrow that resembled a tongue of flame. "I've got a whole army under my foot, for one," he said. "Wanna see some of the rest?"

And to his delight (and slight confusion, noticed some of his soldiers), Lucario was in audience bowing position.

''Forgive my impudence, Lord Bowser,'' Lucario said respectfully, right paw over his heart. ''It has been a few days since I last spoke with nobility.''

Bowser laughed. "RAH-hahahaha! Finally, some of the respect I deserve!" he crowed. He put his chin in his claw briefly, muttering, "But I didn't think he'd actually BOW...I was kinda kidding..." He smirked. "Might as well milk it!"

Lucario heard all of this, as much as Bowser wished to think he was unheard. His ear flicked. 'My first impression here is that I cannot completely trust this noble,' he thought. 'What to do? I need to get to Ash, but I wouldn't feel right if I just stood up in the middle of an audience...'

Bowser, thinking about what to do with Lucario, found his task hard when there was someone actually BOWING to him--someone who, when erect, he couldn't step on without much of a jump. He began feeling a little uncomfortable, actually. "Uh...Shoot, cut the knight stuff, I don't need one and it's getting a bit weird," he said, sweatdropping.

'Phew!' Lucario rose, then nodded. ''If you will excuse me, Lord Bowser, I would like to see my friend. May I pass?'' he asked.

Bowser, to Lucario's slight confusion, appeared more than slightly angered at this. He stamped a foot and uncrossed his arms. "What, you askin' the great Lord Bowser to just LET you go? Ya know what that'll do to my reputation?!" he shouted. He held a fist. "I saw that last Brawl. You just got lucky!" He smirked derisively and stood, pointing at him. "I bet you're just a kung-fu movie junkie weirdo who can use weaksauce magic and phoney moves! You'd be BEGGING for mercy in a REAL fight!"

Lucario narrowed his eyes, an anger vein threatening to show. 'He's provoking me,' he knew. 'Don't rise to it...calm down...' But he couldn't just let himself be SLAMMED like that, could he? An idea formed in his head, looking at how...large the beast was. ''Alright, if you don't want me to get through, then I'll just have to find another way,'' he said.

Bowser smiled and shook his head. "Oh, you're going through me or nowhere, mutt," he said.

Lucario anger-veined at this even more. 'MUTT?! I'm not a...No, calm...' He took a deep breath. ''Very well, if you insist,'' he said, getting into stance. ''I don't think fighting outside the arena is allowed in the rules, though...''

Bowser scoffed, shaking his head as he got into stance, himself. "Psh! As if I ever followed the rules!" he said. He grinned. "You know, they eat dog in some countries. I bet they'd LOVE it if I sold them some fresh, pre-cooked meat!" He then spewed forth a fireball.

Lucario gritted his teeth. 'Fire, shi--' He ducked before dashing forwards, aura vision turning on to help him while he (hoping against all hope) attempted to use Detect.

Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to anticipate Bowser's melee attack, with the great windup he had. So, Lucario jumped up and over him, landing on a shell spike's broad side before leaping off again. He BARELY missed some goombas (who complained or jumped back looking like they'd almost had a heart attack) as he touched down onto the floor. Then, before the big guy could turn, he dashed off from Bowser.

"HEY! Get back here, you...uh...naybe!!" Bowser called back.

''Knave,'' corrected Lucario, voice growing fainter in Bowser's head as he ran off.

"WHATEVER! Just stay away from the full battle competition later on today, lest you feel my wrath!!" the koopa king threatened. Lucario became lost in the crowd. Bowser growled before, in anger, kicking a koopa, who Withdrew to save his life. "Alright, that guy's TOAST next I see him," he promised. "Bleh. C'mon, let's get me some surloin or somethin'," he grumbled, turning and beckoning his army.

''What a noble,'' Lucario commented to himself, looking over his shoulder. He then looked up in thought. ''Actual fighting? Hmmm...'' He looked forwards again before stopping and turning on his aura vision. ''...Ah-HAH!'' he whispered as he finally caught sight of Ash. He dashed off again.

**-'-,-'-**

"...and then I woke up in this shack in this place called Destiny Islands," Ash continued.

"Really? That's a really nice place," commented Travis, crossing his arms as he sat and listened, "though I thought you might've gone to one of the town worlds or here--Traverse Town or Radiant Garden, I mean."

Ash shrugged. "Yeah, I think I was a freak accident," he said. "By the way, you think you might know why almost all of my stuff was stolen?" he asked.

The werewolf and his friends shook their heads. "Unless your bag was open the whole time, I can't think of why they disappeared," Dorian said.

"Your pokémon, were they gone, too?" asked Frank, concern in his voice.

Ash sighed and drooped his head. "Yeah," he answered depressedly. "I think Pikachu came here because of how i--erm, he, I think, was supposed to get here some time ago, anyway, but I don't know what happened to the others."

"Yeah, Pikachu's a guy," verified Travis, nodding. He then frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry you lost your team, Ash," he said softly. "I hope you get to see them again."

Ash smiled a little at this.

"Wait, so why do you have a pokéball on your belt if you're out of pokémon?" asked Frank, pointing to the sole ball on Ash's belt. "Is that Pikachu's?"

Ash raised his eyebrows as he smiled brighter at this. "Oh! Heh, yeah, I caught a new pokémon a little while ago," he said, taking the ball out and maximizing it. He then frowned a little. "It...is kinda weird, though, since it's...well...not like other pokémon," he said, almost trailing off.

"Pika?" Pikachu went curiously, standing up and looking at the ball. When he saw the keyhole symbol on it, he gasped and stepped back a bit, standing with an arm up in shock. "PIKA!?"

Ash looked at him. "Hm? What's up, Pikachu?" he asked.

Pikachu pointed at the ball and then out to a door way down on the ground floor of the arena, jumping up and down anxiously and talking fast.

Ash got the gist, but was still a little confused. "Erm...apart from he wants me to follow him, can anyone translate for me?" he asked, looking a bit lost at Travis. Travis was more intent on smiling at someone coming down behind Ash.

''He says that he wants to show you someone, and fast.''

"Huh?" Ash spun around in his seat before smiling widely in mild pleasent surprise. "Lucario! Great job out there!" he congratulated.

Lucario, footpaws on different steps on the aisle, simply nodded. ''Though it was mostly luck, thank you,'' he returned. He smiled. ''Is that who I think it is?'' he asked.

Ash grinned and nodded, "Yup!" He laughed as Pikachu, eager to see an old friend, jumped up on his back, using the pack on it to stand and his friend's head as a rest for his upper body while he looked amazedly, then excitedly at Lucario.

"Pi-_kaaaah_?!...PiKAH! Pikachu, pikapi_chu_!!" Pikachu said happily.

Lucario chuckled. ''Yes, long time, no see, indeed,'' he agreed. He looked normal again, mouth becoming unseen. ''You looked anxious to show Ash something. I heard something about the pokémon he caught...is it about that?''

Pikachu nodded seriously, smile replaced by a v-frown. "Pi." He jumped down and then bowed to Travis and his friends and said something. Lucario translated, "I'm sorry, but we have to leave, now."

The humans and part-human started a bit at this. "What?" Ash asked. "Is it that important?"

"What about the rest of the story?" whined Frank, frowning.

"For once, my thoughts exactly," Dorian said a bit more maturely.

Travis sighed and shook his head after drooping it so that his lower jaw was hidden by his white chest fur. It slid across it, smoothing it out a little while his head shook side to side. "I understand," he said, "to my displeasure." He smiled and looked up again. "We'll just have to ask you some other time, alright?" he asked.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he replied. He looked at Pikachu. "Well, buddy? Gonna lead the way?" he asked.

"Pi!" he replied, nodding, before hopping down on all fours and trotting to the aisle before turning and waiting.

"See you later, guys!" Ash said before getting up and going after his pokémon. He waved and smiled over his shoulder. The others waved back and bid farewell. With that, Ash and his two pokémon friends were off.

Pikachu pointed to the big door down at the bottom of the arena. He said, Lucario translated, "We've got to get down there, alright?"

Ash chuckled and nodded. "Alright, Pikachu," he said, and the yellow mouse hopped up to get a ride on his shoulder. "Alright, here we go!" And they went. After he went downstairs and across a walkway before some of the stands in that level, he found there were four different ways to get down to the arena from the stands, but they were all guarded by bouncers and gates. Thankfully, since it was a break, they let him through.

"They'd let us through if Lucario or I were with you, anyway, though," Pikachu assured Ash.

They then went across the arena floor and all the way to the doors. Ash opened them and went in. Once inside, he found a great hall lined with doors, like an apartment building. "Wow," he said, "this is different." Indeed, the paint job was changed--there was actually paint--and carpet spread from under his feet. The doors all had symbols on them.

"Oh, Lucario, your room's over there, by the way," Pikachu told Lucario (who didn't translate, but I'm just gonna translate for you, the reader).

''My room?'' Lucario repeated, tilting his head and letting his dreads fall a bit.

"Yeah," the other 'mon replied, smiling. He glanced at Ash's quizzical face before continuing, "Translate this--All of the Brawlers each get a room for themselves to live in while they're here. We could go to mine or Lucario's later if you want to rest or have some food, since they've got them pretty well-equipped. They've even got a Wii!''

Ash let out a laugh. "Well, that's pretty well-equipped, all right," he said, smiling.

"But that's later," Pikachu said, hopping down to the ground. "You've got to follow me to the normal apartments they give to people here."

A bell rang in Ash's head, but he didn't recognize it. "Who are you taking me to see?" Ash asked after he started trotting after his friend. His face brightened. "Is it Prof. Oak?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Not him; he's probably not in there, anyway," he answered. "This is about the pokémon you caught."

Ash tilted his head, confused and curious. "You know what's special about my pokémon?" he asked.

"Pi!...That is, if it tried to kill you when you first met it, I mean," he corrected himself. They turned a corner.

Ash and Lucario looked at each other. ''That pretty much fits the description,'' Lucario said.

"I'll say," Ash answered.

"But..." Pikachu muttered, unheard by the other two. He lowered his face and looked serious. "...Does this mean that Ash...is actually fighting on his own...?"

They finally made it to the room Pikachu wanted to take them to. "Here!" he said, stopping in front of it. He rapped his little knuckles on the door. "It's me!"

"Pikachu?" came an old woman's voice.

"Pi!" He smiled.

The door opened to reveal an aged woman with "closed" eyes. She smiled as she saw Pikachu. "Oh, so it is!" she said sweetly. She looked up and raised her eyebrows. "Oh! You brought more friends?"

"Pi!" Pikachu nodded, smiling. He looked behind him. "Hey, introduce yourselves," he instructed.

''Right,'' Lucario said. (He hadn't translated.) He bowed. ''I am Lucario, and it is a pleasure to meet you, madam.''

The woman put a hand to her chest. "Oh, how polite!" she commented approvingly.

Ash bowed, as well. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallat Town," he introduced, and he grinned. "I'm Pikachu's Trainer!"

The woman raised her eyebrows even higher. "You don't say?!" She looked down and saw Pikachu nodding vigorously, grinning as wide as his Trainer. She smiled at Ash and bowed. "I am honored to meet the Trainer of such an excellent Pikachu." Ash blushed. "I am Harmony, and you are welcome inside, if you'd like."

"Please!" Pikachu said, trotting in. Lucario and Ash shrugged at each other before following. Ash noticed he had to take off his shoes and smiled at the familiar custom.

"Ash," Harmony addressed from a chair once they were inside, "I am from your world and very lucky to have survived. Is there a special reason you were separated from Pikachu...?" she asked.

Ash, sitting on the sofa, looked down a bit. "Yeah," he answered. "I went after this muck--no, not the pokémon--made me and a couple of my friends sink down and disappear. I don't know what happened to Pikachu, but he was left with another friend of mine."

Harmony nodded. Quietly, solemnly, she said, "I see." She smiled. "It is good that you are together again. Have you been able to reunite with your other friends?"

Ash shook his head, lowering his head enough that his hat covered his eyes. "No, not yet," he answered quietly. He looked up determinedly, smiling. "But now that Pikachu and I are together again, there's no stopping us from fixing that!" he asserted.

''And I am willing to assist you to the end,'' Lucario added, bowing his head to Ash. He was leaning against a wall, arms crossed.

Harmony chuckled and smiled more. "That's good."

"Oh! Harmony, Harmony!" Pikachu called, waving his arms from the floor after running to be in front of her.

"Mmm?" She looked down at him and raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What is it?" she asked.

Pikachu pointed at Ash's pokéball in his belt.

"Eh?" Harmony looked up at him. "I think he wants you to show me your pokémon," she guessed.

Ash raised his eyebrows quickly as he remembered. "That's right, he made a scene out there only after he looked at the ball," he mumbled, reaching to get the ball out. "Uhm..." He hesitated, head bent down to his side, hand on the ball. He looked with his eyes at her. "It's...not quite what you'd think for a pokémon," he warned her.

She moved her head back a bit, then sighed. "Is it...is it a Heartless?" she asked softly, smiling sympathetically.

Ash started, ball coming off his belt in his hand. "Wha--?! How'd you--?!" he began, but then he shook his head. "Nevermind; it isn't a Heartless, it's a Nobody," he corrected, and he held the ball in his hand, maximized. "Alright, Exexitt, come out!" he called. It opened with the bright white light as usual and released the pale tree. It looked around, searching for an opponent, before turning back to Ash.

Harmony and Pikachu watched in amazement. "...Its black aura is low," Harmony eventually said.

Lucario started, looking at her in surprise. ''You...can see aura?'' he asked.

Harmony chuckled and smiled wryly. "Among other things, with a little difficulty," she answered. "But the aura I meant was one that can be seen normally if you can see it at all...at least, without the assistance of special headgear they made for the second hero of Orre."

Lucario nodded to show his understanding. ''Pikachu, why bring us here and have Ash release Exexitt?'' he asked.

Pikachu pointed to Harmony. "Because she can help you guys, that's why," he answered.

Lucario gasped. When Ash looked at him in askance and heard the translation, he, too, gasped. "R-Really?!" he asked, looking amazedly at Harmony.

Harmony nodded. She stood and turned to her chest of drawers. "I come from the Orre region, where the Shadow pokémon were created and released into our world," she said gently, opening the top drawer. "I specifically lived within Agate Village, the home of the Relic Stone." She took out a slab of rock and closed the drawer before turning to sit again.

''The Relic Stone?'' Lucario repeated, raising an eyebrow. He spied the rock in her hands and frowned a little. ''Hmmm...'' He closed his eyes and activated his aura vision. He gasped after a second. ''Green?!'' he exclaimed, opening his eyes and stepping back a bit. He looked in amazement at the slab. ''But...that can only mean that it is blessed by the...''

"The spirit of the forest," supplied Harmony.

"Celebi!" Ash finished, looking interestedly at the stone. "I met one before...it was pretty unreal."

Harmony jerked her head at him before laughing. "Oh, honestly! You must have been dreaming, then," she batted her hand in dismissal. "Few are THAT lucky." Her face turned to Pikachu for a second. She stopped laughing when she saw his frowning nod. "...He...did...?" she asked quietly.

"Uhm..." Ash chuckled and blushed, looking sheepish. "I, well, um, actually have seen a lot of legendary pokémon. Most recently were Shaymin--though I think she's (I think) just rare--and Giratina and Regigas. Oh, and I also saw Dialga and Palkia for the second time while I saw those other ones. Pretty intense."

Harmony stopped dead, looking at Ash. Her eyes were open, showing the maroon in them. "...I think I remember seeing a boy looking like you a couple years ago when the weather was acting up around the world," she almost whispered.

Ash sweatdropped, feeling uncomfortable with the look. "Uuuhm...yeah, I was there, too, but it's nothing," he dismissed humbly.

"Harmony...?" asked Pikachu, a bit worried.

Harmony shook her head, eyes closing again. "Nevermind." She held up the stone. "With this piece of the Relic Stone, a rock blessed by Celebi, I can purify the darkness within your pokémon and complete the opening of the door to its heart. Would you like for me to do so?" she asked. As she spoke, Exexitt turned around to face her and the stone, probably feeling a possible threat.

Ash looked up at the change in topic before nodding vigorously. "Yes, please," he answered.

"Alright..." Harmony looked at the stone. "Tell...Exexitt, was it? Tell it to hold still," she said.

"Hold still, Exexitt," Ash instructed. Exexitt suddenly became as utterly motionless as the thing it resembled.

Harmony closed her eyes for real. The Relic Stone piece in her hands glowed bright green. "Now...Celebi, guardian of the forest, lend me your power through this stone piece..." She opened her eyes again, showing them to be glowing bright green. "...Purify this pokémon, Exexitt, that it may live with an open heart!!"

The light from the stone shot out abruptly and circled Exexitt, dancing about and converging upon it into a spinning ball, causing it to glow greenish. After a moment of this light show, a wave of darkness exploded from Exexitt's body and was shattered by the green light, which shot and struck it like lightning. Then, the light itself burst in a flash, and Exexitt was normally-colored again. It stood there, blinking at what had just happened. Harmony quietly put the stone, which was now normal again, back into its drawer, then sat down. She smiled. "It's done."

Ash looked at Exexitt, wondering what he should try.

"Say something, and Lucario, if you can, translate," Pikachu told it and him.

It was a second before Exexitt blinked and tilted its bush head. "Eeehh...exitt?" it asked.

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ''I can understand Exexitt now!'' he reported. ''It worked!'' He chuckled. ''...And it said, 'Eeehh...something?'''

Ash laughed. "You don't attack unless I say please, and you make jokes," he described, smiling. "Exexitt, you're one interesting pokémon, that's for sure."

Exexitt started and turned quickly to Ash. "K'sitt! Exitt exexitt ee!" "Ash!" translated Lucario. "You helped me!"

Ash smiled sheepishly and put a hand behind his head. "Well, not much;" he said, "it was Harmony who unlocked your heart. Why don't we say thanks?"

"! Good idea," agreed Exexitt. It turned and, together with its Trainer, bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Harmony!"

Harmony smiled sweetly. "I am just happy to see a pokémon finally feel," she said.

Ash started and looked with wide eyes at her. "...'Finally feel'?" he repeated. He looked a bit worriedly at Exexitt, who had frozen mid-bow. "...You mean...?"

"Ash," Harmony said, drawing his attention. She looked solemn. "Another Trainer came and showed me a Heartless-type pokémon. I see that you have a Nobody-type, I suppose it would be," she informed. She looked at Exexitt. "I hear Nobodies are the leftover husks of those with strong hearts who became Heartless. So, we are looking at a creature that is naught but a shell, yet still persists as a pokémon after the Light Ball--the object you caught it with--cleansed it of evil intent. A being who truly has no heart--or at least has one, but is so tightly shut, it is as if it has none at all. A pokémon who isn't, but still stands before us as plain as day. A pokémon that wishes to act however Nobodies act despite not completely being one." She looked at Ash again. "We know little, now. I do know, however, that it is in your destiny, your amazing destiny, Ash Ketchum, to capture as many of these as you can, or defeat them and free them from suffering."

Ash raised his eyebrows, jaw open a bit before closing as he nodded resolutely. "It's my dream to become a Pokémon Master, and that includes catching every pokémon, someday," he said. He held up a fist. "I promise to catch all that I can--trust me." He smirked as he said the last part.

Harmony smiled wryly again at this, eyes closing again. "You remind me a little of the other Trainer," she said. She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I believe now would be the time to go," she said.

"Why?" Pikachu asked, surprised.

"You would do well to find Prof. Oak," Harmony answered, smiling normally at them. She then noticed Exexitt still bowed. She frowned. "Oh, dear...did I depress you, little one?" she asked worriedly. She smiled. "Raise your head and hold it high, because you can walk knowing that you are to live your life."

Exexitt raised its head slowly, stopping when it could just see her. "...Really...Madam Harmony...?" it asked, Lucario translating the soft speech. "I really am...I...really AM, now?..."

Harmony nodded, smiling. "You ARE, Exexitt," she assured it.

Exexitt's eyes appeared to water a little. "...Thank you..." It turned away and walked to Ash, face bowed away from view.

Harmony chuckled. "Emotional, are we?" she asked, but that didn't help--it actually looked like Exexitt made a silent sob at that. "Oh...I'd better shush," she muttered, hand coming to her mouth.

Ash chuckled weakly. "Yeah. Well, let's get going, eh?" he asked. The other pokémon nodded. "Alright! Say good-bye to Harmony and go on out ahead of me, I've got to get my shoes on," he said.

The three pokémon said goodbye--"Bye!" ''Farewell, Madam.'' "...Until we meet again, Madam Harmony."--and left, Lucario opening the door and holding it open. He shut it, leaving the humans in the same room.

Outside, Lucario looked at Pikachu. ''What, exactly, can Harmony do?'' he asked, interested.

Pikachu shrugged. "I'm not sure," he answered. "I know that she can purify pokémon and see black auras, but I dunno what else she can do--the cool stuff, anyway." He thought, then smirked. "Well, okay, I lied...I know she can do ONE thing..."

''What?'' Lucario asked.

As Ash put his shoes on, Harmony looked at him, wondering. She said nothing, however. Ash finished, stood, and turned to say, "Good-bye, and thank you again!"

She smiled. "Thank you for coming, and keep an eye on Exexitt and Pikachu," she bade.

"I will!" Ash promised, opening and shutting the door behind him.

Harmony sat for a moment. "...I don't believe it," she said quietly. "A boy who's seen multiple legendary and rare pokémon...and been involved in serious events...Surely, I have just met someone who shall rattle the very foundation of our world when it returns."

Outside, Ash breathed in deeply and let it out in a sigh, feeling refreshed suddenly. 'That lady's weird, but nice and calming,' he thought. Balling his fists and pumping them down in assertiveness, he looked left to right, floor- to eye-level as he met the faces of Pikachu, Exexitt, and Lucario. Pikachu had just finished talking.

''I see,'' Lucario was murmurring thoughtfully, rubbing the underside of his jaw with his paw.

"See what?" Ash asked, curious.

Lucario turned and shook his head. ''Nothing important,'' he answered.

"Alright," Ash said, nodding and smiling his decisive smile. "Let's go and find Professor Oak!"

They all agreed. Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulder again and they walked off.

Along the way, Ash spoke with his new pokémon, making use of Lucario's kindly-given service of translation. "So, by the way, since Kairi wanted me to call pokémon their gender instead of 'it', you male or female?" he began, looking over and down amiably at the white tree. Pikachu looked with an equal expression.

Exexitt, who was looking forwards until then, started a bit after realizing it was being spoken to. Its leaves rustled as it jerked its head. It quickly looked away, another rustling, and then looked up at Ash. "Eh, forgive me, Master, I was thinking deeply," it alibied.

Ash frowned. "'Master'? You're my pokémon, but I don't think I like the thought of owning you--especially now that I can know you and other pokémon like other people. Thanks a bundle, Lucario, by the way!" he added, smiling at Lucario.

''Not a problem.''

Ash kept smiling as he looked at Exexitt again. "You can just call me 'Ash', if you like," he told it.

Exexitt nodded, leaves bobbing to and fro, eyes closed. "Good answer," it said, sounding differently. Before, it sounded like a servant--now, it sounded almost like a teacher with a student, much more confident. "I might have refused to be under you had you insisted on being called 'Master'."

Lucario raised his eyebrows a little, then Ash blinked, at this sudden change of character. "Huh? You...You were testing me?" he asked.

Exexitt nodded again. "Ext, I was. And you passed." Its voice, now that Ash could hear it without extreme emotion in it, sounded somewhat rustly and like a hoarse whisper. It basically sounded a little like sandpaper. It was slightly deep, like the voice of a boy whose voice just changed noticably. "And to answer your question, I am male," he added, opening his left eye (the one closest to his Trainer).

Ash raised his eyebrows, then looked at Pikachu. "Just when you thought we'd seen some interesting pokémon join us," he said in half joke.

"Pi-kah," Pikachu agreed, nodding.

Lucario, translating all of Exexitt's words, was crossing his arms, smiling a bit, and raising one eyebrow's outer side, forming a face of amused intrigue. ''I'll say, indeed,'' he seconded.

All three's attention was returned to the walking sapling when he cleared his throat, which sounded a little like individual teeth of a saw slowly clunking against the bark. He had his face up a little and both eyes closed again. A pair of Vine Whip vines were forming arms. "It's not exactly polite to talk about someone like that when they're RIGHT NEXT TO YOU," he reminded them, firming his voice at the end. Ash was getting the impression of a butler of some sort.

Ash sweatdropped. "Uh, heh, sorry," he said, grinning sheepishly. He then raised an eyebrow, putting a hand to his chin. "You're a bit of a stickler for manners, aren't you?" he asked.

"Just for a few things," Exexitt answered, shrugging his vines. He opened his eyes, returned his vines to his branches, and looked at Ash. "Which reminds me, I should apologize for when we first met." He bowed in motion, bending his trunk so far, his front leaves brushed the carpet.

Ash held his hands and smiled forgivingly, eyebrows knit a little. "Hey, you weren't yourself, I get it," he said. "It was an interesting fight, though, and I guess I thank you for the unique experience," he chuckled, nodding his head.

"Fight?" Pikachu repeated, looking at Ash. (This wasn't translated.)

"I especially apologize to you, my kind translator, Lucario, for knocking you out," Exexitt said to the jackal-like pokémon.

Lucario nodded. ''You are forgiven,'' he said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Pikachu said, shaking his head. "What's with this 'fight' thing?" he asked.

Before Lucario translated, Exexitt tilted his head. "What, Ash didn't tell you? Shame on you, Ash," he said, slightly admonishingly when at Ash. "Why not show him your little secret, as I suppose it is, now?"

Ash stopped, raising his eyebrows at this. "I'm being scolded by a pokémon; this is so unreal," he mumbled. He nodded before looking at Pikachu. "Pikachu? I'm sorry I haven't had the time to show you this, but you should get off my shoulder for a second." When Pikachu had hopped to Lucario's shoulder instead (to the other's surprise), Ash held his right hand up, smirking. "You're gonna be seeing me in battle alongside you for a while, buddy," he said before summoning the Keyblade.

Pikachu gasped, jaw dropping, before pointing, "I KNEW IT!!"

Ash had the feeling he knew what was just said. His smile dropped as he looked confused and surprised. "Wait, you knew...?" he asked. "How?"

Pikachu smiled. "Maru had one, too!"

When Lucario translated this, Ash yelped in surprise and started back a bit, almost dropping the copper key. "Y-You mean he's alive? I mean, he has one, too? I mean, you met him? I mean, is he--" he stuttered.

Exexitt took his vines and gently shut Ash's mouth. "Shut your trap and let yourself think instead of jabbering like an idiot," he instructed. Lucario bit back a laugh when translating, though Pikachu didn't bother withholding his.

Ash nodded and waited for the whips to return. "You've got a bit of explaining to do, Pikachu," he said, turning and walking again while dismissing the Keyblade.

"Alright, but only if Lucario's not tired of translating for us," he replied, getting onto his shoulder again.

Lucario shook his head. ''I'm fine,'' he said. ''It's almost as easy as thinking, remember?''

So, for the rest of the time from there and the doors back to the arena, Pikachu recounted most of what he had experienced with Maru when he was at the arena. He, smirking to himself in his head, decided to let Ash experience the surprise of learning Maru is actually Mewtwo in forced Transform for himself. But he talked about Terroge, Maru's becoming a Brawler, his Keyblade, and how he's on a journey, himself, going around with Figment and Elliott to seal the worlds while looking for a way to bring back their own. "He's as serious as usual," Pikachu ended. "He's also devoted to getting our world back and revenge on the Heartless."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, even from what little we saw of each other, I'm not surprised on the serious bit," he said. He frowned a bit, holding his chin. "Although I'm not quite sure I like that revenge part..."

"Well, that's it," Pikachu said. He looked at the doors around them. "We should find Prof. Oak, now."

''But if he's not in his room, how do you suggest we find him amidst so many people?'' Lucario asked, holding an elbow while he put a paw to his chin.

Pikachu shrugged. "Can't you just use Wavision?" he asked.

'''Wavision'? What a name for it,'' Lucario chuckled, and Ash laughed at the name, as well. ''That would be difficult; I won't be able to find him easily unless I know what his aura looks like,'' he explained.

"Well, he met Maru after he won a pokémon battle tourney, so maybe if you enter with the three of us..." Pikachu suggested, trailing off.

Ash's face lit up after hearing the words "pokémon" and "battle" and "tourney" used in one sentence, and was restraining his explosion of excitement while waiting for Pikachu to continue. "...Well?" he asked, mouth tight in a pursed smile.

Pikachu sighed. "There's not gonna be one for another hour, I don't think," he said. "We can't just dink around until then, can we?"

Ash frowned. "Yeah..." he said disappointedly. "You're right." He thought for a moment. "Well, how about exploring for a bit until then?" he suggested.

Pikachu sweatdropped. "You...don't want to explore, do you?" he asked. "The lower hallways are infested with pretty formidable Heartless, and I dunno how strong you are..."

''He could use the experience,'' Lucario said thoughtfully.

Ash sweatdropped. "Er, not now," he said nervously.

"..." Exexitt went.

"Well, why don't we just go and find a place to train, then?" suggested Ash.

"Or we can explore the safe parts," pointed out Exexitt.

"Sure, sounds good," Ash said, nodding. "Though, we probably SHOULD train a bit..."

"What, and bore the reader even MORE?" Exexitt muttered, though Lucario was too confused to bother translating.

So, they opened the doors and went back up the stands. They found nobody familiar as they went up to the mall area, where Ash wanted to walk a bit. "People-watching," he reasoned, "plus, I'm hungry, and I saw people using Munny."

''Weren't we saving up for a Gummi Ship?'' asked Lucario.

"Gummi Ship? You don't have one?" Pikachu asked. "How'd you get here, then?"

So, while they were walking around, Ash, Lucario, and even Exexitt filled Pikachu in on the journey from Destiny Islands until then. They'd walked a quarter around the stadium in the fifteen minutes they took. Pikachu was wide-eyed by the end. "Wow," he went, impressed. "You've been through a lot, Ash."

''And he has fought admirably,'' commented Lucario.

"Not to mention he's a pretty damn good Trainer," added Exexitt.

Ash smiled sheepishly and put a hand behind his neck. "Aw, c'mon, I haven't fought that much and I'm just trying my best," he mumbled, shrugging the other hand up.

Lucario suddenly gasped, nearly stopping as he whipped his head to look around the corner. ''...Oh, great, HIM again,'' he growled.

"Who?" Ash asked, looking in the same direction and slowing to the black and blue dog's speed. He raised his eyebrows. "Woah, is that guy's head on fire?!"

Pikachu looked and groaned annoyedly. "Nope, though we could only hope," he grumbled, untranslated.

''Lord Bowser,'' Lucario supplied, moving forwards only hesitantly.

"You actually CALL him that?!" Pikachu asked, surprised and shocked at his companion. "He doesn't deserve to be called that!"

Lucario gave him a hard look. ''Fool or not, I believe him after he summoned an army with merely a snap of his claws--something only a king could manage,'' he said. ''And I have been brought up to address royalty with title. I'll call him what he is, whether I like it or not. I'll never give him the honor of saying he's MY lord, though, believe me,'' he added with a scoff.

"What's so bad about him?" Ash asked. He then sweatdropped when the koopa looked their way, showing his face, and at the same time, the bubble of people around him broke momentarilly to show his full size. "Apart from how intimidating he looks?" he added slower with a gulp.

"He's a Brawler, too," Pikachu added/answered. "Careful. And I've found out that, outside of Brawls, he works like a Fire-/Dragon-type when using attacks on us and when we use moves on him," he warned his Trainer.

Lucario gritted his teeth and grimaced. ''And in case you've forgotten, you've a pair of pokémon right here who are weak against Fire,'' he reminded.

Ash frowned seriously. "I know," he said. "Let's get away from him." He started to move towards an exit ahead and to the right.

"EXCUSE ME, KID!!" came a small and harried voice.

Ash stopped and turned, then looked down. A hammer bro. was standing there, panting and looking a bit flustered. He pointed to the giant turtle. "L...Lord Bowser's...requested your presence...and he wants you...to bring your flunk--er...your friends..."

Lucario and Pikachu groaned a sigh. ''We tried,'' he muttered, putting a palm to his forehead.

Ash gulped and nodded. "We'll be right there," he told the hammer bro.

The hammer bro. looked relieved before he trotted back to his master. Ash followed, noticing that people were giving a wide berth to him now, having assumed the news. (A couple of gorons, though, to nobody's surprise, went about as usual, unperturbed.)

"Wow, you're more of a squirt than I thought back there!" greeted Bowser when they approached, crossing his arms and smirking.

Ash fought showing how intimidating this guy was. 'Seriously, I feel like a pokémon going against that ability...' He kept a straight face and determined eyes as he stopped and bowed breifly.

''We meet again, Lord Bowser,'' Lucario greeted, kneeling for a second and rising again.

Bowser glared at the pokémon. "An' yer lucky you're not alone, this time," he told him, pointing.

Ash blinked at this. "Huh?" He narrowed his eyes, indignation replacing fear. "Whaddaya mean, 'not alone'?" he asked defensively, holding a fist at chest level.

Bowser chuckled growlingly. "Oh, great, the kid's actin' brave!" he muttered to himself. Louder, he answered, "Aw, just a little...altercation we had earlier while he was off lookin' for his loser friend."

Ash anger-veined. "Ya mean ME??" he checked through gritted teeth.

Pikachu sweatdropped and widened his eyes. "Ash! Keep cool! You CAN'T handle this guy!!"

Before Lucario could translate, Bowser laughed. "Yeah, probably," he replied. "And I think your little rat friend there's the same one who everyone hates around here. I asked you over here so I could see if you'd like me to squish 'im for ya!" He boomed with laughter.

Before Ash could roar at him for insulting his best friend, Pikachu smirked and laughed, surprising him. "You're just jealous that I can use my Final Smash to its fullest!" he slyly bit back. Reluctantly, after Pikachu nodded to him, Lucario translated.

Bowser anger-veined at this before bending down right to Pikachu's face (to Ash's discomfort). "No, we're all ticked 'cuz your Final Smash is cheaper'n dirt!" he growled.

Despite himself, Ash couldn't help but ask, "Final Smash?" after taking a step back from the dragon-turtle.

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh, you stupid or somethin'?" he asked. ("Look who's talking," Pikachu muttered.) "You saw your weirdo friend there go all shoop da whoop out there, right?"

"...Yeah," Ash answered.

"That's from the mouth, actually," corrected Exexitt, saying what Ash knew he probably shouldn't. (Thankfully, Lucario was smart enough not to translate this.)

Bowser prodded Ash's chest a bit painfully. "That's it," he answered, "and your little rat loves becoming an annoying ball of hyperactivity with Bolt Tackle."

Ash looked confused. "Huh? Volt Tackle? But he doesn't turn into a ball when using Volt Tackle normally," he said, looking at Pikachu.

"Sure does here, though!" said Bowser loudly right in Ash's face. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I'd like to have a few words with 'im!"

Ash narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back. "We can arrange that, yannow!" he threatened.

Bowser raised his eyebrows before laughing. "RAH-HAHAHA!! So much for friendship, huh?"

''Ash, it's illegal for Brawlers to fight outside the ring,'' Lucario said to his friend, cutting his eyes at him while he said the same protest Pikachu was making.

Ash smirked. "Lucario, let me tell you something about being a Trainer," he said. He glared at Bowser. "We can never run from a challenge!!"

Pikachu groaned and looked up slowly, rolling his eyes a bit. "We're gonna get in so much trou-bllle," he whined, sounding like a teenager having a "Shiiiiiiit...!" moment. He shook his head and hopped down on the ground in front of Ash, though. Despite himself, a smirk and narrow set of eyes appeared on his visage. "Oh, well, I've missed this," he silver-lined.

Ash smiled at Pikachu. "Thanks, buddy," he said in a low voice. "I know we're at a disadvantage, but you're the best bet we've got against him, since you're not weak against either type he's got."

Pikachu nodded. People were clearing out, now, forming a ring around them.

Bowser chuckled. "Ah, so you're really serious about this, huh?" he asked. "And you're just gonna stand there and let your slave do the fighting, like that loser Red?"

Ash anger-veined. "HE'S MY FRIEND!!" he roared back. "And if you EVER make fun of him again, I'll make sure you regret it!" He smirked. "Besides, you wanted to fight him, didn't you?"

Bowser scoffed. "I'll fight whoever the heck I want, squirt!" he replied, holding his arms up and shrugging. He lowered them and got into stance, narrowing his gaze. "Now shut up and let's wrassle!"

_PWEEEEE!!_ "Oh, no, ya don't!" cried a voice. Heads turned to find, to Ash's delight and surprise, an Officer Jenny running to them, followed by a few men in a uniform the Trainer assumed to be for the security at Melee Arena. On her hat was the Smash logo, taking place of whatever symbol her assigned town had had. She was blowing a whistle. "No Brawlers fighting outside the ring, and no fights in the middle of public!! If you wanted to fight, then you'd have to risk the lower corridors!"

Bowser frowned annoyedly. "Aw, c'mon, you guys STILL think I'll follow crud like that?" he asked. He snapped his claws. In an instant, a line of minions formed around the perimeter of the "ring". The security was stopped from interfering, having a living wall to deal with as the army of goombas and various koopa troopas climbed atop each other to form an unscalable one just for the cops. "Minions: The most useful things ever created!" Bowser described with a smirk. He then stomped a foot, causing a few cracks to appear beneath it and the floor to shake slightly. "BRING IT ON!" He started running forwards, though relatively slowly.

Ash frowned at the rule-breaking, but found he had no way out for real, now. 'Well, let's do this,' he thought. "Alright!" He pointed at Bowser. "Pikachu, let's take him out with our speed! Use Quick Attack, now!"

"PI!" Pikachu dashed forwards, using the Quick Attack used for battle.

Bowser growled and released what equated to Flamethrower. He missed until Pikachu came to slam into him. When that happened, he maneuvered his mouth to fan out the flame. Pikachu got slightly singed as he passed through it, but he was able to slam with enough force to knock the wind out of Bowser for a second.

"Iron Tail his face!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu complied, jumping up and giving a powerful uppercut with his stiffened tail. Bowser grunted, but he wasn't too harmed. He growled and snatched Pikachu from the air, to both his opponents' dismay. He mercilessly continued his old Koopa Klaw attack, chomping Pikachu four times before using his up throw. Pikachu flew up, making pained squeals the whole time, before he slammed to the ground before Ash.

Ash looked in horror at his friend. He was bleeding a bit, and he wasn't happy. However, Pikachu, like the trooper he was, grunted and got up. "Jerk, taking advantage of the fact that those attacks do more damage outside the ring," he grumbled, which Lucario wisely translated.

Ash raised his eyebrows at this. "Well, that's not good," he said, remembering how powerful the swordsmen's slashes were and imagining how long Lucario'd last in a real battle against them the way he was right now. He narrowed his eyebrows as he thought. 'Alright, we're in an enclosed space, and he's slow as molasses, but he's as strong as a machoke with bigger fangs,' he analyzed. He glanced at Pikachu. 'Pikachu's Electric attacks aren't going to work much because of his Dragon-type, and he looks pretty tired out...If he gets hit by Bowser again, he'll be out--' He gulped. '--or worse.' He eyed Exexitt and Lucario. 'If he's gone, my best bet would be Lucario, since he could get in there and use some Fighting and Steel attacks with extra power courtesy of STAB...but if he gets hit by any fire, he'll be out soon; he's still not too strong. Exexitt's ability would help, but he'd probably faint or burn to a crisp before it could do any good.' He looked once more at Bowser, who had begun to advance once more. 'I would have to have a deathwish if I went in myself--unless I can use a Reaction Command...' He shook his head. 'Alright, best bet right now is to keep with Pikachu and use speed, but more carefully!' He pointed. "Double Team!"

Pikachu obeyed, forming a circle of insubstantial electric mice around Bowser.

Bowser stopped and half-eyed at Ash. "Oh, come on, the oldest trick in the book?" he asked, disappointed. He rolled his eyes. "Some Trainer."

'But this time, I'm going to actually make use of it instead of letting you take shots,' Ash thought back. 'What's his most vulnerable place?' He quickly glanced while Bowser used fireballs at Pikachu's illusions. His front was vulnerable if he could cut, but Pikachu couldn't do that well. Otherwise, it was pretty defensive--his chest was made of strong, tight muscle and his stomach had a dense, bouncy layer of fat, both sure to repel blunt attacks. His back was a no-go, too, with the shell. He couldn't for the life of him figure out anything Pikachu could use Bowser's tail for. (Think: A little mouse trying to lift what has to be over two tons of koopa king? Pssh! Come on! The only reason Mario can do it is because he's Mario!) 'The head! Dangerous, but my only op--' He stopped. 'Wait!' He pointed. "Quick Attack on his foot, and keep going!" he quickly ordered.

Right before he was shot by Bowser, Pikachu dashed out and landed a glancing blow at the thick left footpaw. He jumped off of the right one and dash-attacked again. He was able to avoid being hit and stomped until he finally landed a hit square on the ankle.

Bowser howled in pain and grabbed up his foot--but only for a second, Ash knew. He usually didn't do stuff like that, aiming for the legs, but he knew it wouldn't be effective enough to really be considered underhanded. All he needed was for the guy to stop attacking for one moment.

Ash took the opportunity, a gleam coming into his eye. "Now, Iron Tail to the face and spring up from it!" he ordered. "Then get down FAST!"

Pikachu, now realizing Ash's idea, smirked before jumping up and spinning with his most-used melee move. Bowser was hit with the surprisingly strong attack and sent falling backwards. Pikachu, having aimed between the eyes, slid his tail to the top of the poofy snout Bowser bore and sprang up before he lost his platform. "WOOAARRGH!" Bowser shouted before slamming fully onto his back. "OH, YOU'RE KIDDING ME!!" he complained as he waved his arms and legs to get up to no avail. Pikachu reached the apex of his jump.

"Now!" Ash pointed, determined look on his face. "Make like Treeko!"

Pikachu got it after a quarter second and spun as quickly as he could. Then, at the last second, he turned into a flip and unleashed his Iron Tail right on the base of Bowser's thick neck. He landed on his chest before jumping back to his stomach, which he bounced off of. He backflipped right to Ash again.

Bowser was motionless for a moment before a deep growl was heard. It grew in intensity as its source curled up its limbs. Then, at its climax, Bowser shot up, roaring. He actually flipped once before crushing some of the tile beneath him, landing a bit in front of where he was before. Ash and everyone else grunted in pain from the shockwave ring. Ash lowered his arm, raised from instinct, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Bowser's face was contorted with absolute fury. His pupils had dilated, his fangs were fully bared, and his muzzle was wrinkled in a snarl. He was no longer the kid-scary guy he normally was, he was now a complete MONSTER. "I'VE got a move for ya, WANNA SEE?!" he roared, so loud Ash put a finger in his ear after, hoping he hadn't gone deaf. Flames spat out with each word. He then stepped back, throwing his head down and whipping it up, fire spewing with each motion and getting stronger each second. "I call it..." He held his head up high for a second, taking a mammoth breath, and it looked like a volcano was starting to erupt from his lips.

Ash paled, gritting his teeth and sweatdropping. 'This looks bad...' He knew there was no escaping the oncoming attack. He knew there was no way he could knock him out before he attacked. "Everyone, brace yourselves!!" He summoned his Keyblade and held it up in defense, Pikachu ducked away, Lucario took a defensive stance, and Exexitt shielded himself with vines.

Bowser finished charging, looking ready to explode. With a gigantic roar, he thrust his head down and unleashed it with a roar, _"IMMOLATION!!"_

A HUGE plume of fire shot out and blasted the four and just about everyone in the wall-o-minions behind Ash with copious amounts of flame. They yelled and some minions screamed, and Ash felt agony from heat like no other Charizard had given him.

After what felt like an age, it ended, and Ash opened his eyes. He was blackened and barely able to stand, and he noticed he was surrounded by prone creatures--one of which was a burning bush. "AAH! Exexitt, return!" he cried, whipping his ball from his belt and recalling him. He hoped that would put him out. The other two, he noticed, were out cold--Pikachu from the flames adding on to previous damage, Lucario from the super-effective attack. Bowser, though, was panting, grinning victoriously. And, to his amazement, the minions behind him (Ash) were merely singed, since they were still keeping back the security as well as before.

Ash was weak and alone against someone he was sure wouldn't care if he got killed. He gulped as he looked at Bowser.

"Heh...heh...Not so tough, now, are ya...kid?" Bowser panted.

Ash only made his "UH-oh" face, save the wide eyes; those were narrowed. '...Waitaminit, that must have been Blast Burn!' he suddenly realized. 'It's supposed to make you so tired afterwards, you need a little bit to get your energy back, like with Hyper Beam!' He looked around. 'If I could run...' But there was still no visible escape. At least, not for him AND his friends. 'Shoot! I'm done for!' he thought. He looked at Bowser for a moment, fear crossing his face, but then he lowered his head, eyes hiding behind his blackened cap. 'I'm not going down without a fight,' he told himself. 'I CAN'T!' He whipped his head up and tiredly got into stance. '...Yeah, I'm dead.'

Bowser looked about ready to attack again. He smirked. "Aw, kiddie wants to pway?...Alright, gimmie one more second..." He took a couple more pants.

A commotion sounded outside the ring. It sounded like some voices were going up and up and up, and then like something was stepping on hollow, hard things up in the same places.

"Alright, time to say night-night, shrimp!" Bowser laughed, breath back. He took a run at Ash and reeled back his claw.

Ash raised his Keyblade. 'This is it...Lucario, Pikachu, I'm sorry...' He squeezed shut his eyes.

The claw came for him.

"Take THI_IY**YYAAAA**BBLUBBRAUBGHULB!!_"

"Huh?" Ash opened his eyes to see Bowser being repelled by a blast of water from above. He looked up as the water stopped and a small orangeish-brown and light blue form came flipping down to the ground. It landed on its feet and stood, ready. Ash saw the sides of the sunglasses it wore and gasped. "Wait, no way--!"

The being turned to look at Ash before removing its triangle shades, revealing a familiar pair of eyes that winked with a smile. "Squirtle-squirt!"

"I'll be!!" Ash cried, smiling widely. "Squirtle!!"

Pikachu grunted as he came to, though still weak. "Pi...kah...?" He then saw Squirtle standing with his shades in paw and gasped happily, standing up quickly. "Squirtle! It's you!" (This is translated for you guys, but not for Ash.)

Bowser grumbled and wiped his face off before growling, staring daggers at Squirtle. "Awright, what's the big idea?! I never ordered a bath!!" he asked.

Ash smirked. "Y'sure do need one, though!" he said. He pointed. "Squirtle, Water Gun, now!"

"Squirt!" Squirtle replied before firing his attack again. "Squir-r-r-r-r-r!"

Bowser squawked and held his paws out in front of him, sheilding his face. "Aw, hey, c'mon, stop it! This is annoying!"

'And ineffective,' Ash added. 'It's normal damage, but too small...' He pointed. "Squirtle! Think you could crank it up to a Hydro Pump?"

"Squir!!" Squirtle stopped, took a deep breath, then unleashed a huge blast of water. "SQUIRRRR!!"

Bowser's eyes became plates as he saw the attack coming at him. "Oh, NOOOOOO!!" He ducked into his shell. WHAM!! He was struck and sent sailing towards the other side. The people there quickly cleared a space in time for him to crash to the ground, backfirst. When the water went away, a few seconds passed. Then, with a groan, Bowser's head poked out with his other limbs, spiral-eyed.

Ash gasped into a smile before pumping his arms and jumping in victory. "WE DID IT!!" he cried. "Great job, guys! And, thanks, Squirtle! We REALLY needed you!" he added, looking at his old friend.

Squirtle happily trotted over, smiling and making greeting sounds.

"Uuun..." Lucario struggled to get up, holding and shaking his head. ''Urgh, I feel like I was hit by a Fire Blast from five sides...'' He looked up and saw the results of the battle. He widened his eyes. ''We won?''

"Lucario! You're okay!" Ash ran to him. He crouched and helped his friend up. "You got hit pretty badly. I was worried."

''You're not alone, there,'' Lucario said, rolling his eyes in his mind. He wiped his brow in relief. ''Who is our savior?'' he asked.

"Squirtle!" answered the owner of the name.

''Oh!'' He looked at the little turtle. He chuckled. ''So, it came down to a turtle match.''

(Someone in the crowd (which was cheering from the results, having been able to see once Bowser fainted and his minions came down to carry his unconscious form off) started singing, _"Teen-age Mu-tant--"_ before being elbowed by a friend.)

Squirtle walked over and bowed briefly. "Good to see you're not dead!" he said to Lucario.

Lucario chuckled. ''You have NO idea,'' he replied, making the other blue pokémon tilt his head in confusion. He grunted and got to his footpaws before looking around. ''Where's Exexitt?''

"In his ball," Ash replied. He looked around, too. "Any idea where a Pokémon Center is?"

''A...oh. No, I don't,'' Lucario said.

"But I do," said someone behind Ash.

The boy turned before he gasped in delight. "It's you!"

Tracy chuckled, "Yeah, took me forever to find him."

Before Tracy, standing between the two Trainers, was Professor Samuel Oak. He smiled and held up a hand, one behind his back. "It's good to see you again, Ash!"

***-*-***

*In a café down the street, Bowser is sitting at a table, using two armrest-less chairs and sipping an extra-large strawberry-cherry smoothie. Well, gulping. He drains the cup and wipes his mouth.*

Bowser: Aaah, delicious! *snaps his claws, summoning a few minions, and holds out the cup to one* Ey! Bring me another, NOW!

Minion: *takes cup* Yes, Lord Bowser! *scrams*

Bowser: The rest of you, go and grab me some nice, greasy food! Hold the pickles and anchovies!

Minions: Yes, Lord Bowser! *scatter to some other restaurants around and into the café*

*Sitting with Bowser is Travis, of all people. He's having the same size drink as Bowser, but instead is having a blueberry-mango mix--interesting, but he finds it tasty. He raises his eyebrows while he lowers his tumbler from a sip, froth left on his furry lips.*

Travis: *licks excess* Now that's service.

Bowser: *smirks as he turns back to the front* Ain't it, though?

Travis: I gotta ask, what if they revolt against you? You're just one guy, and they're, like...what, two billion?

Bowser: *looks flatly at him, leaning on an arm forwards on the table, which threatens to break* ...Mutt?

Travis: *anger-veins a little* Yeah?

Bowser: They're all just koopa troopas, goombas, and variations of the two. They're cannon fodder.

Travis: ...Good point. *sip*

***-*-*  
**

I hate the guy's evilness, but I love his character in the Paper games I've played and he's just the most badass character in the Mario universe. I mean, look at that HAIR! I -dare- you to get hair like that. Yeah, you can't. Only Bowser could pull it off.

Axel: *walks past, whistling Flyleaf's "I'm So Sick" while running a hand through his hair*

...Okay, only Bowser or a Tetsuya Nomura character, but nobody else! *sighs* And, yeah, I know I'm making my main characters meet other major Pokémon characters the same way--having them meet at the end of a chapter and then join them next chapter after they've explained what's going on.

Axel: *walks by the other way, takes a break in whistling* Our game's coming out in a few months. *continues whistling*

...*twitches, but makes saving throw against nerdgasm (thanks for the word, Niddy!)* Anyway, aye, Ash almost gets his ass whupped, but it's the Squirtle Squad to the rescue! They formed a slightly off-center stack behind the wall and Squirtle climbed them. Thought it up in the shower XP Oh, and sorry to anyone who hasn't read my other fics (especially my EBA fic) since I didn't bother to detail much stuff I've detailed already in the main story, and since there are characters Ash met before that only appeared in my EBA fic. (Although, I'm actually jumping the gun on myself for them, since I've yet to write when Ash and some of them last meet...) Yeah, sorry. Anyway, gotta go to bed. Night!

***-*-***

Minions: *all come back* Sustenence, Your Gnarliness!

Bowser: *looking over shoulder* Aah! *beckons with other arm* Lay it all out! *rests both arms and almost full upper body weight on the table, which creaks*

Minions: Yes, Lord Bowser! *quickly set huge spread of food and his smoothie on the table around his huge arms with difficulty*

Bowser: Great! That'll be all, losers, spanks! *snaps claws to dismiss before leaning even more on table, rubbing paws above face* Mmmmm...which first?

*The table breaks*

Travis: *holding his smoothie while he looks at Bowser, who, arms frozen in the position they were in before, is looking down at the ruined lunch with a quivering lip and starry, tearing-up eyes* Me telling you I knew that was gonna happen, your lardiness? *sip*

Bowser: *twitches eye a second before clenches both eyes and throws down fists* _DAMMIT!!_ That's the third time this week!

Travis: *stops mid-chop lick* O_o;;

***-*-***

...Alright, I'll admit that has something to do with him being in, too *blushes* But I promise, I'll sort of incorporate that in a (hopefully) hilarious and awesome way next or one after next chapter! NOW good--

Axel: *walks past again, singing in a comfortable octave to tune of chorus* 3-5-8...Days...o-ver 2...

...night..............Axel, you sonuva--*nerdgasms*

Axel: *smirks, twirls chakram/wind and fire wheel thingy* That's 3,405 fans down, who-knows-how-many to go. *voice fading into distance* Next up: lemon writer #3,389...


	11. 03: Starter Communications

"...That's quite the story, Ash," commented Oak, crossing his arms and leaning back in his sofa seat.

"That's just the basics, too," Ash said, chuckling, sitting in the couch across from him.

Bing, bing, bing-bing-BING!

The familiar measure caused Ash and Oak to look up to the door with a syringe light now off over it. They had gone to the Pokémon Center nearest the battle scene, the northern one. (Squirtle had to go back with the Squirtle Squad.) Ash himself rested enough to fully heal himself (read: he finally, to his relief (his legs had been killing him!), found a save disc in the Center and used it). He had shaken off the soot from before right after he saw Oak before, too. Currently, Nurse Joy was coming in, pushing a cart with two pokémon on it, one inside a ball. On one side of her was a chansey nurse, and on the other was Lucario, looking as good as new. Nurse Joy smiled at Ash. "Your pokémon are all healed and ready to go," she chimed happily. "Just..." She tilted her head and sweatdropped, eyes closing in the n_n; expression. "...TRY to remember to recall your pokémon before their leaves can set on fire again."

Ash stood and gave the same expression, laughing nervously and putting a hand behind his neck. "Yyyeah, I'll try," he promised. He approached the cart and held his bent arm out, smiling at Pikachu. "Feelin' good, buddy?" he asked as his friend hopped over and perched on his shoulder.

"Nurse Joy did it again!" the Electric-type replied, smiling and wagging his tail a couple times.

''And I experienced it for the first time,'' added Lucario after translating. He turned to Nurse Joy and bowed briefly. ''Thank you very much for healing me.''

Nurse Joy blushed and put a hand to her chest. "Oh, my!" she laughed. She smiled sweetly and nodded. "It was my pleasure! Now, run along, Mr. Brawler!" she shooed, like a mother to her child.

Lucario came and joined Ash, who was putting Exexitt's ball back on his belt. ''You are Professor Oak, correct?'' he asked, facing the old man.

Oak stood and nodded, smiling. "That's me," he answered. "And you're the Newcomer, Lucario, whom Ash told me about after the time you first met, as well as now." He raised an eyebrow in interest, putting a hand to his chin. "A mew made of light comes and you're suddenly amongst the living once more, huh? You're quite the interesting pokémon, I must say," he commented.

Lucario blushed a little. ''Erm...Thank you, I...think,'' he replied.

Oak made a sweatdrop face without the sweatdrop. "Sorry, I suppose you're not used to scientists failing to conceal their interest," he apologized, pushing his hands a little. "Shall we sit?" he asked, eyes open again and hand open as his arm went down in the gesture.

Lucario nodded, and everyone sat again. He sat on a chair, pulling his tail to a side. ''I have heard a rumor that you are very knowledgable about pokémon,'' he said to Oak. ''Do you know anything about the mew of light?''

Oak shook his head, sorry expressioned. "I'm afraid that's a mystery to me, too," he answered. "I've never heard of a mew made entirely of light in my life. However, I'm sure I could research it for you," he said, smiling at the pokémon.

''You would?'' Lucario asked, raising his eyebrows. Oak nodded, and Lucario bowed a bit from his seat. ''Thank you very much.'' He rose and looked concerned. ''I'm still unsure whether it's a friend or a foe.''

"Speaking of friend or foe," Oak said. He turned his head to Ash. "Now that everyone's ready again, why not we go to my apartment?" he suggested.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Sure!...Wait, hold on," he held a finger, smile blinking out for a second. He looked at Pikachu and asked, "How long until the battle tournament, again?"

"Umm..." Pikachu looked at a clock. "...half an hour, I think."

After Lucario translated, a Trainer walking past and wearing a flannel over his body, a braid in his curly hair, and a DS holder on his belt beside some pokéballs stopped and looked. "Hm? I heard that it's been moved half an hour to let more people sign up...though I really think it's because of that fight Bowser got into with a Trainer," he added, smirking. He shook his head. "Don't take my word for it, though, and sorry for eavesdropping." He nodded and walked off again, going to Joy.

Ash, shaking off the feeling that he'd seen that kid somewhere before, snickered. "Well, I guess I'll have to thank that big bully for giving us enough time to talk," he joked, and the other humans laughed. He nodded. "Alright, let's go, Professor!" he said.

"Right!" Oak returned, nodding and smiling.

After they left, the boy looked at the spot they were and muttered, "I wonder how many of my classmates would be gagging and saying how gay that was," cringing at the third-to-last word leaving his mouth the way it did.

**-'-,-'-**

After everyone got to Oak's place and squeezed in, Oak held his hand out. "Ash, give me your pokédex for a moment, would you?" he asked, smiling.

Ash sucked his breath sharply through his teeth before frowning and saying morosely, "It vanished with almost everything else on me." Pikachu raised his eyebrows at this.

Oak frowned sadly, starting a little. "Is that so? Ohh..." He sighed down and shook his head, then brought it up again, smiling. "Well, I'll just have to give you a new one," he said.

Ash gasped and smiled. "Really?!" he asked, holding his fists together. Pikachu opened his mouth, but was unable to do more than go, "K--"

Oak chuckled and closed-eyed-smiled, nodding. "Of course!" he replied. "In fact, I was going to give you an upgrade to your old pokédex, but I suppose I can make you a copy of one I made for...someone who brought me a new kind of pokémon the pokédex can't scan normally." He frowned sorrily. "It'd take a couple hours, though."

"KA!" Pikachu squeaked abruptly, holding his front paws up in the "wait" gesture. Returning them to Ash's shoulder, he said, "Wait! If Ash lost his pokédex, I think I might have it. It smelled an awful lot like him, but stank with some weird, other smell...one that I remember..." He shuddered.

''...Bad memory?'' Lucario asked softly, tilting his head.

Pikachu nodded. "Yeah, from the night our world disappeared," he replied, frowning. After Lucario translated (and for the translator, a little before), everyone was silent for a moment, a pinprick of homesickness in their chests. Pikachu spoke up again, smiling, "Look, I've got Ash's pokédex in my room. I can go get it, and you can just upgrade that, so it'll be quicker, and he can have it before the tourney, where he might need it!"

Ash tilted his head in confusion. "Why do I need it so badly, apart from that new pokémon type?" he asked.

"It also has the ability to scan the Heartless and Nobodies," Tracy answered, holding up a pokédex that looked like and was the size of a cell phone. It was colored like a normal pokédex, though. "This is the second one he made, and the only other one he's had time to put together, but I'm going to help him with them, now, and they'll be given to each Trainer in the Arena," he explained. "I'll also figure out a way to get some to the Traverse Town Defense Corps, too," he added, smiling broadly.

Ash smiled breifly, too, and came over to look at it, interest raising his eyebrows. "It scans Heartless?" he asked.

"Yup," Tracy said, using it to browse through it. "And Nobodies. You'll have to enter in any data for Heartless and Nobodies that us or the other 'dex-holder haven't seen."

Ash nodded. "That's alright," he said, "I remember the way that weird one from my dream worked and looked enough."

"Good; we already have a shot and name for it," Oak said, "but we don't know much about it."

"Should I get the pokédex, now?" Pikachu asked, tapping his foot slowly and raising an eyebrow.

Oak and the others turned back and sweatdropped, apologizing. "Yeah, please, go on," Ash answered.

"Alright! Could I steal these two for a sec, though?" Pikachu asked Oak, pointing to Ash and Lucario. "I want to show them my place quick, since we forgot after purifying Exexitt."

Oak said sure, and they went. After getting into Pikachu's room, they found it was extra-large. In a chest of drawers, on the bottom drawer, Pikachu pulled out the small, flat, red device. "Here," he said around it as he turned to give it to Ash with his mouth.

Ash took it, beaming and gaping in smiling relief. "This is mine, I can feel it," he said.

''...That it is,'' Lucario verified, opening his eyes and letting his dreads fall again. ''I could see the residue of your aura on it, something that occurs to objects their owners especially care for.''

Ash smiled and opened it, checking the Trainer ID section. "...You're right! That's a useful thing," he said, closing the DS-like 'dex and putting it in an inside pocket of his vest-shirt.

''When you feel up to trying to see aura, you can make use of it, yourself,'' Lucario told him, smiling.

Pikachu raised his eyebrows at this. "Ash can use his aura more, now?" he asked.

"Yup!" came the proud reply. Ash smiled down at Pikachu before sweatdropping and confessing, "It's actually the only reason I'm still here, to be honest. I tap into it and let it flow throughout my body, putting me in the zone instantly and letting me be able to fight without stinking worse than a grimer."

''Worse than a muk, to be honest,'' chuckled Lucario as he smiled wryly. Ash began to laugh, too, but stopped abruptly. Lucario realized that he'd caught a memory as his friend's face fell. He widened his eyes before drooping his head. ''I'm sorry, I didn't know...'' he muttered.

Ash smiled a bit sadly and shook his head. "Don't worry, I rarely trained with...um..." He sweatdropped again. "...sorry, but it, since I have no idea how to tell the difference between boy and girl muks."

''I don't blame you--not many people want to find out how,'' Lucario shrugged.

Everyone laughed a bit at this, and the situation was defused.

*****(Re)OBTAINED Ash's Pokédex*****

Pikachu then insisted they run over to Lucario's room quick. They did, Lucario being the only one who could open the door. (Pikachu later mentioned that if he gave permission, those with him could open it; also, other Brawlers could open it, too.) It was pretty much the same as Pikachu's, except there was a little extra room in one corner. Room service had already installed a save disc there, which Pikachu advised they use. Lucario stopped after looking around the room, face falling a little despite a small smile remaining.

Ash was the one to recognize a memory, this time. He smiled sympathetically and tilted his head. "Remember your old room, don't you?" he asked quietly.

''Yes,'' Lucario answered. ''Things have really changed since then. I sometimes feel I can hardly keep up--it's all so...so overwhelming sometimes.'' He looked away a bit. ''I'm...I'm not sure I like it. All this unfamiliar technology.'' He looked up and spread his arms to indicate their surroundings. He let them fall again and shook his head. ''I'm sorry, but...'' He looked up after a moment when Ash put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry," Ash said, looking into his eyes kindly. "We all feel like that nowadays. I mean, I'm not used to Gummi ships or the stuff they have here or a lot of the things they've got, like potions for people instead of just pokémon." He shook his head. "You're not alone, Lucario. We're all being a bit overwhelmed. I think it's better if we all get through it together, though."

Lucario looked down, then up again, smiling slightly. ''Thank you, Ash,'' he said softly, nodding. He and Ash turned to Pikachu when he said something. '''Sorry, but we're making Prof. Oak wait even longer.' He's right,'' he told Ash, taking a step to the door and looking over his shoulder. ''Let's return to him.''

"Alright," Ash nodded, and they went.

By the time they got back, Oak was finished with something on his computer. "...Done!" he said, tapping a final key as Ash and his 'mon company came in. He smiled, dragging the mouse to save the file. "Just adding in a little something into the update that I think will make Lucario happy, Ash," he told him.

"It's a program we've been developing for ages that we couldn't complete before the professor got here," Tracy explained, turning to him with a hand on the back of the chair. He was standing behind Oak as the older man sat in a cushioned swivel chair at the computer. "Apparently, right after he told the EBA's R&D department about what he wanted to do, Slippy walked in, overheard Ms. Foxx double-check what Oak wanted to make, and said, 'That oughta be a cinch! I can help you make it in a jiffy!'" He laughed. "The rest was history."

"Had it by the end of the day!" Oak said triumphantly, turning and holding his hand out to Ash. "Alright, may I see it, please?" he asked.

"Sure!" Ash smiled and gave it to him. He took it and popped it in like a floppy disc. (Remember those things? I gotta use them when transfering this story to the web! I NEED A LAPTOP!! *cries*)

"Alright, this'll take a few minutes," said Oak. He turned and opened up a small drawer. "I'll then have to tinker with it after it's finished, since it needs just a small little thing that Slippy was able to make and stick inside of a hollow part of the machine. Ten minutes and you'll practically have a brand-new pokédex!"

Ash grinned. "This sounds pretty cool!" he commented. "Thanks, Professor!"

"No problem!" Oak replied, chuckling. He faced his chair to Ash and rested his elbows on his knees. "In return, why not show me that pokémon you had?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure!" Ash brought out the Light Ball and stepped back. "Alright, Exexitt, come out!" he said, opening the ball in his hand. The walking tree came out in the familiar flash of light.

Tracy reached for his pokédex immediately, but Oak held an arm out. He chuckled at him. "Let's wait and let him do the honors," he said. "He DID catch the little guy."

Exexitt appeared to bridle. "'Little?!' I may be short, but I'm NOT little!" he complained, Lucario translating.

Oak sweatdropped and held his hands up, waving them. "I'm sorry, Exexitt; I didn't know you were height-conscious like that!" he apologized.

Exexitt calmed and stood as normal after a gentle bow. "No hard feelings, sir," he said.

This made Oak raise his eyebrows. "Did he really just say 'sir'?" he asked. Lucario nodded.

Ash chuckled. "And he almost never attacks unless I say, 'please,'" he added, putting a hand on his hip and slouching. "He's pretty interesting."

Oak laughed. "Well, I'll say he is," he agreed. He smiled at Exexitt. "Could I please take a look at you?" he asked.

"Certainly," Exexitt replied, nodding his leafy head. He stood still and calm as he allowed Oak to examine him all around.

"Interesting," he muttered as he went. He walked all around him, bent over. He gently lifted up a leaf or touched a branch occcasionally. "It appears you're really a walking tree. But you seem...young. Do you evolve at all?" he asked, taking full advantage of the ability to ask direct questions. During this, Tracy was taking full advantage of a still subject and sketching the different-eyed pokémon. (The eyes were different, he said to Oak later, because they had full life in them.)

Exexitt answered, "I believe I do, but I'm not entirely sure how many times and how many forms."

Prof. Oak stifled a laugh, smiling as he looked at the back of his head. "In other words, if your evolution branches," he said.

Exexitt half-eyed, looking to his left, while everyone else save Oak hung their heads, facepalming if their hand or paw was free, and groaned. "That was bad," he said. "Sorry, but that was just...bad."

''I saw it coming, too,'' Lucario added after translating, shaking his head in his paw's palm.

Oak sweatdropped and laughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," he said, hand behind his head. He then went back to examining. "Anyway, so would I be reasonable in calling you the sapling pokémon?" he asked.

"Sounds like it pretty much fits the description," Exexitt replied.

"Then you'll be the sapling pokémon in the pokédex, if it scans like I think it does with caught Nobody pokémon."

"Professor, it's already finished!" Tracy called from the computer.

"Aaah, is it, now?" Oak asked, turning and looking at the computer. Ash's pokédex was sticking out like a freshly-ejected floppy. "Wonderful! Now, then, I'll get right to this. It should only take a couple of minutes." He sat down, took the 'dex, and opened a drawer to grab some tools while he spoke.

"In the meantime," Ash said, smirking and holding a fist up as his three pokémon companions turned to him, "let's quick discuss some strategies we can use for the battle tourney!"

''Why are you so keen on this tournament?'' Lucario asked, tilting his head. ''We found Prof. Oak, and you have been battling and fighting almost non-stop since we got to Traverse Town. Don't you want a break?''

Ash grinned, shaking his head. "No way! I took enough of a break in Destiny Islands, and I haven't really done very much real battling at all since Destiny Islands. I don't know how long I'm gonna be gone from my journey, so I've gotta keep my skills sharp!" He winked and made a thumbs-up, switching fists.

Lucario raised an eyebrow, sweatdropping a little bit. ''Erm...where do you get so much energy?'' he asked. Ash shrugged, and Lucario shook his head for a second. ''...Well, what about the pokémon you will battle with? They will get tired of battling, will they not?''

"They might--or, really, YOU guys might," Ash said, pointing at them. Lucario started, but the other two, knowing they were his pokémon to begin with, were still and calm. "But a Trainer's pokémon should be used to working hard--besides, it helps everyone in the end." He smiled. "Winning battles is a good feeling, and, as I've been finding out, being the very reason the battle was won is a really great feeling. When you feel good about yourself, life is a lot better to live."

Lucario smiled a bit, but was sweatdropping a little again. ''That is true, I suppose,'' he agreed, ''but I cannot remember when I was to be used in a battle.''

Ash raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You didn't object when we went against Riku," he reminded. "Besides..." He blushed and lowered his head a bit, adjusting his hat, the brim covering his eyes. "...I don't have much of a choice, and it'd be stupid to go in without at least three pokémon." (Pikachu decided not to mention the fact that Maru went with technically only two pokémon and still succeeded; Mewtwo was powerful enough to count for two, and Terroge was strong, as well. Besides, Ash's next words made a good point, considering a major difference between him and Maru: ) "I can't fight for myself in this tournament, unless they say so, and I'd probably lose, anyway, because, if it came to human-vs-human, people are way smarter than Heartless and Nobodies, if my fights against Sora and the others taught me anything..."

Lucario stood and furrowed his brow in thought. ''...Alright,'' he said after a moment. He nodded at Ash. ''I will agree to be commanded by you during battle, like a soldier and his general.'' He put a fist to his chest. ''I shall follow your commands and trust in your skill as a Trainer. Don't let me down.''

Ash smiled and nodded. "I'll do my best, Lucario," he assured him. "And I'll do my best with you guys, too," he added, looking at Exexitt and Pikachu.

Tracy frowned, looking a little worried. "But...most of the Trainers here are going to be using a full six, won't they?" he asked. "Or...what?"

"They'll use whatever the situation calls for," Pikachu answered. "If they need to use three because the other guy only has three, that's what's gonna happen. That is..." He looked to the side with his eyes. "...unless they decided to make it open-rules and each Trainer uses as many pokémon as they have, even if one has fewer than the other..."

''That would present a problem,'' Lucario admitted. He crossed his arms. ''It would also be dangerous if we ever met a complicated type match-up like we did against Bowser.''

Ash nodded, frowning and putting a hand to his chin as he thought. "Ideally, I think, if we had a Dragon-type, we'd've been golden," he said. He smiled and raised his head, shaking it. "But that's really not too much of a worry for me, usually."

''What do you mean?'' Lucario asked, tilting his head. ''Type-matching would be an important part of Training, wouldn't it?''

"It is, and Ash considers it, trust me," Tracy said, smiling. Lucario looked over at him. He had his sketchbook in one hand, that one on his hip while he slouched. "But the thing I noticed he does that every good Trainer should do is look at each pokémon he's got and work with it, then make use of that individual pokémon's strengths and weaknesses. For example, he uses Pikachu for speed." He gestured towards the little guy, who grinned mischievously.

"Bowser doesn't hate me for nothin'!!" he squeaked, Lucario not translating.

Lucario raised his eyebrows, then turned and gave an approving smile and nod to Ash. ''You are a very wise general, then, if you consider what each of your soliders are best at doing,'' he commented.

Exexitt tilted his head. "So, since you've had me out a gazillion times already, do you think you have a good idea what I should do?" he asked.

Ash shrugged, giving a sorry frown. "I'm sorry, but I haven't had much time to really battle and focus on your strengths or Lucario's, though I think I can assume that Lucario is probably my guy for physical power this time around..." He trailed off, looking at Lucario.

"If you would like my opinion, I would use myself when the other kind of power is needed--in other words, special attack," Exexitt stated.

Ash nodded thoughtfully. "That, and your ability is pretty useful if I have to go against a pokémon which specializes in grabbing moves...So, like, a machamp or something..." He sighed aggrivatedly. "Darn it, if only I could find a suitable place to seriously get a session of training in!" he lamented, hanging his upper body. "Then we could get this worked out easier!"

Oak pressed a few buttons on Ash's pokédex while Pikachu spoke, "Cha, chu pi-pika chat you can do here, I'm afraid." He smiled when Pikachu gasped and put his tiny paws to his mouth.

"I see it's working," Oak said, folding the device shut. He stood and went over to Ash, holding it out. "There. Now you can understand what your pokémon are saying without Lucario having to translate for you all the time." Ash, utterly impressed, took his 'dex and opened it, examining it. Oak smiled a bit more and returned his hands behind his back. "It's able to throw its 'voice' in a way and make it sound like pokémon are speaking Human if they're close enough, but it simply translates the old-fashioned way if it's too far. Of course, you can make it translate the old way and let the pokémon speak its language naturally anytime."_*****_

''Either way, I don't have to repeat everything that's said,'' Lucario said with a little relief. ''I will admit, that was getting a bit tiring.''

"I knew you'd like it, too, Lucario," Oak smiled. He looked at Ash again. "It's also able to display a map of an area if you've got one, now. Just scan a map once you get it and it'll display on the screen. I've taken the liberty to add a map of the arena. There're some more little functions I stuck in there, too, like a journal and some simulations of Pokétch apps."

Ash smiled at it in amazement. "Wow...This is so cool! Thanks, Professor!" he said, about to put it away.

"Aren't you going to use it, though?" asked Oak, raising an eyebrow in a silent chuckle.

"...Oh!" Ash flipped it back open and aimed it at Exexitt.

"?" Exexitt went.

"You're gonna get 'blipped,'" chuckled Pikachu.

"Oh." He stood still.

"...It's called being 'blipped' because it happens instantly, silly!" Pikachu laughed.

"...I see." Exexitt eyed Pikachu. "You shouldn't laugh at others when they get embarresed," he admonished. "It's inconsiderate."

"Exexitt. The Sapling Pokémon. It often uses vines as arms. If not for its coloring, it might be mistaken for a (real) sapling," the 'dex's feminine voice rattled off.

"Ex!" Exexitt laughed, amusedly impressed. "Well, that's quite interesting!"

"Yeah," agreed Ash. He furrowed his brow and clicked on the "more info" option. "Hmmm..." He read aloud the detailed information it had.

N#1: Exexitt (ex-egg-ZEET). The Sapling Pokémon. Types: (1) Nobody / (2) Grass. Ability: Thorn Spore (Harms anything that physically grabs it a moment later.). Height: 1'6". Weight: 38 lbs. Color: White. Entry: Often uses vines as arms. If not for its coloring, it might be mistaken for a (real) sapling.

"Huh, so THAT'S what your ability's called," Ash said to Exexitt after reading aloud his ability. He put the pokédex away.

Exexitt nodded. "That it is," he confirmed. "Others might confuse it--and rightly so--by calling it 'Bomb Spore'. It is truly more like that, but frankly, there are enough attack and ability names that have associations with human objects and not with nature," he said, half-eyeing at the second part of this. He then blinked and raised a leaf above one of his eyes. "That translator is making me feel a little weird, it's working that well."

Everyone gave a little laugh at this, but the mirth was cut short by a knock at the door. Oak opened it and answered, "Yes?"

A person who apparently worked as a staff member of the arena was standing there, panting a little. "Excuse me," she said, "but is Ash Ketchum in here?"

"Yes, he is," Oak nodded. He looked worried. "Why? Do you need him?" he asked.

"Well...I have an offer...from the higher-ups...for him to become...an honorary Brawler..." the woman breathed. "And I hope...he takes it...because the circumstances...are just right...for him..."

Ash was out in a jiffy. "You mean it?!" he asked, amazed. "I could be in Brawls like Pikachu and Lucario?"

The woman smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Hold on..." She took a moment to catch her breath, hands on her knees. When she was breathing heavily, but not panting, she stood straight and looked at Ash in the eye. "Ash? You have owned a squirtle and still own but do not currently have a charizard and a bulbasaur, correct?" she asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "I saw Squirtle not too long ago, but..." He looked back at Oak, trailing off.

"Bulbasaur's alright, Ash," Oak reassured him, smiling. "It--or he, using proper gender--is currently in a digital ranch the arena created as a pokémon storage system. It's basically a fancy version of PC boxes, which some Trainers use instead of entrusting professors like me with their pokémon. It's even accessable from the Wii in people's rooms."

"Great!" Ash nodded. He turned back. "But...what about Charizard?" he asked, worried.

The woman smiled nervously. "Well...he's fine, but..." She laughed a little. "I'm sorry, it's just I was told by his friend, a black charizard, and I'm not used to talking pokémon."

Ash raised his eyebrows at this, but decided not to say. "Alright, what does this have to do with Brawls?" he asked.

The woman nodded. "There's another Trainer who was selected to Brawl, named Red. He Brawled by standing in the sidelines and commanding three pokémon: a squirtle, an ivysaur, and a charizard. However, he's fallen ill and his trophy, a copy we make of each Brawler that we use in case the real deal isn't in Melee Arena, is currently malfunctioning, for some reason. We've heard that you are a good Trainer and you own three similar pokémon. So..." She made a rolling, continuing gesture with her hand.

Ash smiled and nodded. "I get it, I'm going to be standing in for Red while he gets better?" he asked. The woman nodded. He grinned and held up a fist. "Alright! I'll do it!" he said. "...Do I have to come with you anywhere?" he asked, dropping the smile for a second.

"Not at all!" the woman answered happily, tilting her head and close-eye smiling. "We'll just change your stamp's ID in our databases. You're not going to get your own Brawler room, sadly." She stopped smiling and frowned a bit.

"That's alright," Ash said, pushing it aside with a hand. "I'm fine. Where're my pokémon?" 'I haven't seen them all in the same place since the Battle Frontier!!'

"We'll get them to you, but you'll want to be outside," the woman said. "Where would you be?"

Ash mmm'ed in thought, looking up with his eyes. 'I have no clue where anything is here,' he thought, sweatdropping. "Pikachu?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Eastern, top tier bleachers," Pikachu suggested. "They're usually pretty vacant around this time."

"Right, the bleachers in the eastern side of the coliseum on the top level," Ash supplied the woman.

"Thank you! They'll be there shortly!" the woman bowed. "Thank you very much for doing this on such short notice, as well. The Brawls will be great fun, don't worry. See you out there soon!" She bowed, spun on her heel, and left.

Back inside the room, Ash smiled at everyone. "Well, you hear that? I'm an unofficial Brawler, too, now!" he laughed, pumping a fist. "Now we can all Brawl together!" He looked at Pikachu and Lucario at this.

They nodded, smiling. ''This does sound interesting,'' Lucario said.

"I wonder how weird it's going to be to compete against my own Trainer?" Pikachu thought aloud, putting a paw to his chin.

"Well, you'd better get going, or your pokémon will get there without you," Oak said, holding a hand up and smiling. "It was great to see you again! Good luck!"

"Have fun and be careful, Ash," Tracey bade, holding a hand up as well.

Ash nodded, holding a hand up, too. "Thanks, and I'll try!" he returned. "See ya!" He looked at the pokémon. "Well, let's get goin'!"

''"Right!"'' went Pikachu and Lucario; "As you wish!" went Exexitt. All three of them nodded. They followed him out to the hallway.

-Footnotes-

_*****_This means that, in-game, you would have the option of hearing the VA's do the Human language lines or have them continue speaking Pokémon while you read subtitles. I suspect most people would prefer to have Pikachu speak in this second way because his seiyuu (sp?) is so good at it. So many lines, though...

**-'-,-'-**

As they sat and waited, Ash reviewed his potential team. 'I've got a Nobody-/Grass-type, and I have no idea how good Nobody-type pokémon are against other types. He says I should use him for non-physical power, but I know he's also great at jumping. I've got a strong Fighting-/Steel-type, a fast Electric-type, and I'm gonna be getting a Grass-/Poison-type, a Water-type, and a Fire-/Flying-type. I think I've got two speed people, a bruiser, one or two all-arounds or non-physical fighters, and a solid powerhouse. This'll be interesting, to say the least,' he thought, looking up and at a Brawl they were holding to kill time before the tournament. He breifly wondered if he would be able to sign up in time if he was a Brawler. 'Better dash to the sign-up place as soon as they get here.' He looked around, concerned. 'Where ARE they, anyway?' he wondered.

"Squirtle!!"

"Hm?" Ash turned around, the others around him doing the same. The human broke into a smile and he waved. "Heeey!" he called.

Squirtle came down with the Officer Jenny protecting his hometowm. They stopped at his row and Squirtle hopped up and trotted over. "Nice to see you again, Ash!" Officer Jenny greeted, saluting.

Ash grinned and nodded. "Same here! Thanks for taking care of Squirtle so well!" he replied.

"Ash! Glad to see you're not burned to a TOTAL crisp by that stupid larger cousin of mine!" Squirtle greeted, stopping next to Ash and smiling.

Ash half-eyed. "Gee, thanks," he replied, and Squirtle started in surprise, realizing he could be understood. "The pokédex translates pokémon, now!" Ash explained.

"Hey, Ash!" Ash turned around the other way and found Tracy walking up the steps to him. Beside him was...

"Bulbasaur!" Ash called, smiling and standing up as saw his old bud. (No pun intended, I swear!!)

Bulbasaur smiled and called Ash's name before trotting faster up the steps to get to him. "I'm glad you're alright!" he said when he got to him.

"Thanks! Been keeping the pokémon in Oak's ranch in line pretty well?" Ash asked, kneeling on a knee to him.

Bulbasaur, too, was a little surprised at the translation soft- and hardware of the 'dex, but recovered sooner. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but it's tough work," he said. He looked around and saw Squirtle and smiled. He waved a vine. "Hey, Squirtle! How're things going?"

"Great! We're keeping our firefighting skills sharp here, no thanks in part to people like Bowser!" Squirtle replied, waving back.

"Now, where's--" Ash began, scanning the skies.

A bit of Jazz trumpet improv cut him off. He turned around and saw three forms flying towards him from the south. "Huh? Three charizard?" he muttered. He then smiled as he recognized all three.

"Hoo! Man, this is good exercise!" said the left charizard as he landed first with a stand-shuddering slam. He was an overweight charizard wearing, of ALL things, an open marching band coat, and carrying a trumpet. (It appeared as if he could play by holding with his left paw and playing with the right, using all three digits.) He smirked and waved at Ash. "Remember me, Ash?" he asked.

Ash nodded, grinning. "Yeah! You're Charlie, and you're Charla, right?" he checked, pointing at another, normal (in looks and weight) charizard who landed more gracefully. She nodded her bow-wearing head. "Then that means--" Ash began to finish, looking up, but a Flamethrower cut him off. When it was done, the boy was blackened for the second time that day. He coughed a cloud of soot and, eyes closed into lines, smiled, saying, "Yep. Charizard."

Charizard landed almost on top of Squirtle, close-eye smiling widely. "Damn right!" he said, nodding. He then bugged his eyes breifly before clamping his mouth. "?!...Uh, I MEAN--!!"

"We've TOLD you to watch your mouth in public, and see what you get?" scolded Charla, stepping forwards with her paws on her hips. The creatures were so big, they didn't care much whether they were standing on steps or bleachers. Well, all but Charlie; after he heard an ominous creak from a bench he stood on, he sweatdropped and decided to sidle along the concrete.

Ash shook the soot off and laughed at Charizard. "Heheheh! I've been wanting to see how you really speak quite a bit, actually, Charizard," he said to his friend, smiling. "Seems you're the tough guy I've always imagined!"

Charizard smirked with his eyes closed and crossed his arms, smugly looking away and snorting.

"So, you're going to be entering the tournament, Ash?" asked Liza, the woman who takes care of Charla and protects the others of Charicific Valley, as she hopped down from her female charizard's back (she'd been holding on by her arms around her neck, but Ash didn't notice). "Charizard's been training pretty much non-stop in little battles each day, so he's rarin' to go!"

"Fourty wins of various sorts in a row, so far," Charla clarified, shrugging helplessly for some reason unknown to Ash.

"Fourty-ONE," corrected Charizard over his shoulder, opening an eye. "I'm counting that race with Charlie to the cave during that storm a week ago." Charla shook her head, keeping pose.

"WHAT?! But you SMOKED me because I'm slow!! That's NOT fair!" Charlie protested, frowning and crossing his arms.

"Yeah? Whatcha gonna do 'bout it, Chunky?" Charizard chuckled, looking over at him. He got an answer by an enormous trumpet blast in the face. "_GRAAAAUUUGH! _HYPER VOICE! _HYPER VOICE!!_ OWOWOWOW_OW!!_" Charizard writhed his neck away, stomping a couple feet back and holding the sides of his head. One stomp accidentially broke one of the bleachers, and he nearly fell sideways downhill. Lucario was able to grab his tail and, with an effort, pull him back up before he fell farther down and hurt both himself and other people.

"Use the best dang set of lungs in Band, that's what," Charlie smirked, lowering his instrument.

_"What?"_ Ash asked, covering his ears, too. Practically everyone within a fifty foot radius of the shiny charizard was.

Charlie blinked his red eyes, sweatdropping. "Uuuuhm...Oops!" He chucked nervously, hiding his trumpet behind his back. "Er, sorry! Forgot we're in public!"

"I oughtta swat the BOTHA ya!" Charla shouted, still holding her ears.

After the ringing had stopped (and Officer Jenny had written a warning to Charlie for disturbing the peace, much to the trumpeter's dismay and surprise), Tracy said, "Well, you'd better get down to the southern part of the arena and sign up!" He tossed Ash three pokéballs. He caught two, but Pikachu had to catch the last one, sweatdropping. "Here're their pokéballs. Now get going, and hurry, because now that you've got your pokémon, you're ready for Brawling, so don't dawdle--otherwise you'll never get to sign up! Good luck in the Brawls and the tournament!" He waved over his shoulder as he walked down the steps.

"Thanks! We will!" Ash called back, waving. He'd placed the three balls on his belt.

"We'll see you later, too," said Liza, turning to leave with the other two charizard. She mounted Charla and the two of them took off.

"By the by, there's going to be a normal fighting tournament sometime later today," informed Charlie over his shoulder. An "M" was on the back of his jacket, wings coming out under the arches. He grinned. "It's open to anyone and everyone, team or solo, and I'm going to try my luck in it. You can watch or compete--there's a pretty good munny prize in it!"

"How good?" asked Squirtle, cocking his head.

"Ummm...I think, like, 100,000 munny or so," Charlie shrugged.

Ash gawked. "THAT MUCH?!" he asked. Then, something hit him like a lightning bolt. 'Wait...I could send that money to Nono and he could build us a Gummi Ship!!' he realized. He smirked and held his fist determinedly. "You're SURE to see us there, don't worry!" he promised.

Charlie chuckled. "Well, alright! But beware, with that much money, some undesirables might be in it, so...yeah." He sweatdropped, glancing to the current Brawl as someone was knocked out. They followed his gaze and saw Bowser coming down from a recovery platform, looking pretty ticked. Charlie close-eye-smiled at them again and held a paw. "Leave SOMEthing left for their moms to kiss, Charizard! Later, y'all!" he said goodbye, and, with a deep grunt and a mighty flap, was slowly flying away.

They watched him leave for a second before Charizard thought of something. "Groh! Hey, em, Ash?" he asked, bending his head down to his Trainer.

"Hm?" Ash looked at him. He saw him putting a paw to the side of his mouth, so he turned his ear to him.

"Ah, if you're going to be fighting Charlie, keep your pokémon away," the oversized lizard advised, smiling and sweatdropping.

"Huh?? Why?" Ash asked, looking at him and raising an eyebrow.

Charizard's sweatdrop grew bigger and he looked at him with half-eyes. "Trust me, you don't wanna know. I will say that he can humiliate you both in looks and in battle if you piss him off enough...Erm, tick!" he corrected himself, waving his paws. He looked around, then sighed in relief, bowing his head to his chest. "Forgot, she ain't here to breathe down my neck..."

"Who, your _giiiirlfriend?_" Ash asked, smirking smugly.

This earned him another Flamethrower as the clouds blew past overhead. ''Aaash...'' Lucario went a bit dissapointedly.

"Some things never change..." Pikachu sighed hopelessly.

Ash smiled at everyone around him. "Man...once we get a Gummi Ship," he said, "we're gonna go on a journey and save our friends! I'm glad I'm gonna be going with you guys, too, now!"

At this, the starters looked away a little, wearing sorry smiles on their faces. A second later, Bulbasaur looked back at Ash. "Ash? We'd love to come with you, but...we can't," he said.

"We've got stuff we gotta do here, like he's gotta keep the Ranch from turning into a fight club and I've gotta help keep this place from burning to the ground," Squirtle reasoned, pointing to Bulbasaur, then to himself.

"And as much as I'd love to go with you and get stronger," Charizard added, "I'm Charla's bodyguard, and I'm Charlie's friend. I'd worry about them while I was gone."

Ash looked at them in turn as they spoke, smile fading into a frown slowly. He sighed and closed his eyes, hanging his head. "You're right," he said quietly. "You've got your jobs to do. I should've thought about that. Sorry." He looked up and smiled a little. "But that just means I've gotta build a new team out of the new pokémon I'm gonna catch on the way! And I guess I should be happy, knowing that you guys will be safe and sound here. I'm glad to know you are already, really!" He close-eye smiled and tilted his head.

Bulbasaur shook his head. "Don't think we don't want to go with you, because I think we all do, don't we?" He looked at the other two. They nodded and made sounds of agreement. Bulbasaur returned his look to Ash. "See? We're just as disappointed we can't come. Thanks for being a bigger person than some and not whining over it too much, or begging us to come with or anything," he added, doing the same look their Trainer had given them.

Ash smiled normally at them and nodded. "No problem! I completely understand. I've grown up a bit since we first met. I've learned that sometimes, life gives me lemons..." He punched the air in front of him. "So I just gotta make lemonade!"

His pokémon smiled at him, nodding approvingly.

Ash opened the hand he had in front of him and opened his arm. "Now, c'mon! Let's make the time we've got here together last!" They all made sounds of agreement.

When this was all done with, Ash recalled everyone, leaving the two out he always had out (Lucario since he was technically wild and Pikachu because he hates being inside a pokéball). "Alright, let's get south and sign up!" Ash said, facing the direction. They jogged off (Pikachu riding on Ash, as usual).

*****Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charizard have temporarily joined the team and cannot leave the world with the main party.*****

They had just--JUST--gotten to the line when Ash, Lucario, and Pikachu stopped and looked at the backs of their hand/paws. "Huh? My stamp--!" Ash muttered.

A person in the back of line turned and raised his eyebrows. "Wow! THREE Brawlers at once?!" he asked, impressed. "Y'all in for somethin' special, 'cuz they's doin' some team-ups! Two on two!"

The pokémon worlders sucked in their breath and bit their lower lips, looking at each other. "That means one of us has to go against the other," Ash moaned. He frowned depressedly.

Lucario regained composure the quickest. He smiled. ''Well, that just means that we win, no matter what,'' he said.

They began to fade away, being teleported to the ring. Ash was able to ask the guy in front to save their spot if he could. "I'll see! Good luck, y'all!" the Texan-accented fellow bade. "OH! AN' TYPE-MATCHIN' DON' MATTAH!!" he added, Ash barely catching it.

When Ash could see normally again, he found himself in the sidelines of good ol' Battlefield. He knew that he had to send someone out quick, since everyone else was appearing, so he grabbed a ball. "GO!" he called, trowing it. It was Squirtle.

As things turned out, Ash was teamed with Lucario on the blue team while Pikachu, wearing a red and white hat similar to Ash's, was on the red team with..."A jigglypuff?" Ash muttered, looking at the Brawler, who also wore a hat. He tilted his head in confusion. "Why the heck is a jigglypuff--?"

When the jigglypuff made eye contact with him, he knew why. The spark of memory in her eyes was enough to tell him just exactly WHICH jigglypuff Jigglypuff was. He blue-cheeked (the blue squiggles under his eye when freaked) and took a step back. "Oh, great, it's THAT Jigglypuff, back for more revenge!!" he wailed.

''Ash! The Brawl's begun! No more messing around, we have to fight!'' Lucario told him, looking to the side from his stance. ''Tell your pokémon what to do, following the rules. You'll figure things out, I think.'' He advanced forwards and attacked Pikachu with a kick.

Ash nodded and pointed with his finger. 'This is gonna be some intense commanding,' he mused. "Squirtle, go after Jigglypuff! And don't insult its singing!"

"I remember!" Squirtle said back, sweatdropping as he dashed forwards, though Ash couldn't understand. The pokédex's translation function was disabled, strangely.

Ash got the hang of it while the ten-stock match went on. He got familiar with their designated moves by commanding the direction that they usually were--"Up special!" "Forward special!" "Standing special!"--and learned from Pikachu (through Lucario) during a break when Jigglypuff was out and Squirtle had been ko'd that, as Red's stand-in, he had to cycle between Squirtle, Bulbasuar, and Charizard, both when one was knocked out and when the down special was needed for any of them. Charizard appeared to work the best with Ash, and his Rock Smash worked absolute wonders when it hit point-blank. (When he was asked later on, Charizard quickly said it didn't hurt to headbutt the rock at all, though Ash caught him massaging his skull after he thought he wasn't looking.) Bulbasaur's normal attacks had to be altered a little, seeing as he didn't have the leaves Ivysaur had had. Instead, he utilized his vines more often. His Razor Leaf was different, as well; instead of one large one, he fired a rotating group of three.

Working together with Lucario, they won. At one point, Bulbasaur was able to grab the Smash Orb and Ash felt a Reaction Command at the same time he remembered a combo he'd read about. Smirking, he let out the other two. "Okay, guys! Let's sock it to 'em!" He ordered quickly, "Solarbeam! Fire Blast! Hydro Pump! Give 'em the Triple Finish!!" They pulled it off magnificently as, to the audience, a text box popped up, reading, "It's super-effective!!" (This, of course, confused everyone in the stands who knew basic type-trumping; neither pokémon on the Red Team were weak against any of the multi-directional beam(like) attack's three types.)

"This game's winner is...THE BLUE TEAM! Give it up for Lucario and, standing in for the Pokémon Trainer, Red, Ash Ketchum with his pokémon, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charizard!" the announcer (the normal Brawl announcer, this time) said at the end. Ash had everyone out and was praising them while they each had their own victory dance. Squirtle spun in his shell before popping up and double flipping to his feet, Bulbasaur did a little jig, rocking from one side to the other (similar to one of Ivysaur's taunts), and Charizard just bugled and blew a Flamethrower into the air, stomping and flapping his wings. They ended in one group: Ash in the center and giving his fist-raised pose, Bulbasaur below him, tilting his head cutely, Squirtle to the left and spreading his arms out in the "Ta-daaah!" pose, and Charizard right and behind Ash, merely crossing his arms and smirking. Lucario did another of his victory dances while the other two pokémon stood and clapped politely.

The two teams exchanged hand- and pawshakes afterwards. When it came to Ash and Jigglypuff, the situation was a little better than the Trainer had imagined. Ash cautiously held his hand out to Jigglypuff. "H-Here, good job, Jigglypuff!" he said, sweatdropping. 'Don't Sing, don't Sing, I don't want to miss the sign-up...!'

Jigglypuff bobbed her body/head and jumped up, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Thank you! Nice to see you again!" She landed and pulled out her dreaded microphone. Ash took a step back IMMEDIATELY. Jigglypuff frowned hard. "What? You STILL think my singing's bad?! I've been practicing!! And besides," she added, softening her face, "there's not much more time left. There's still the big battle tournament to be had, and you've got to sign up, right? I can't perform for you now!" Ash raised his eyebrows at this. She smiled. "Hey, I've grown up a bit, too." She winked. "You'll see after the tournament, though!!" she added before turning and trotting off, a bounce literally in her step.

Ash sweatdropped. Lucario looked in askance and Ash simply said, "I don't think she knows, still..."

As soon as they were dismissed to leave, Ash took Lucario and Pikachu with him as he made a mad dash to the sign-up desk. They had kindly saved his position in front of line, and he was able to cut. "Thanks! I'd like to enter the tournament!" he said, smiling amiably.

"Alright, Ash! What pokémon are you going to be using?" asked the woman behind the table, pen in hand.

Ash thought. 'Hmmm...I've got a full team with me here...heh, why not?' He smiled. "I'm going to be using six of them--" Something occured to him, and he faltered. "--un-less...Brawler pokémon are banned..."

"Not at all!" the woman shook her head, smiling sweetly. "And pokémon and attacks of the two new types that have emerged recently are alright, as well--as long as you can handle them. Someone actually entered once with only two pokémon, one of them being one of those types! I forget which type, though," she added, sweatdropping. "It was big and black, all I remember."

"Heartless?" Pikachu asked, cocking his head.

"Oh! You can--*ahem*." She regained composure in two seconds and nodded. "Yes, Pikachu. Nice try out there, by the way," she added, giving a sympathetic smile. Pikachu just nodded and smiled.

"So, anyway, I'm gonna enter in these pokémon," Ash said, turning attention to him again. He listed, "Pikachu; my Nobody-type, Exexitt; Squirtle; Bulbasaur; Charizard; and Lucario's agreed to let me command him, as well," he added, looking over at his friend. He nodded.

"Well! This should prove interesting!" the woman said, scribbling down Ash's roster. "Just beware, there are some tough Trainers out there, waiting to tear you to shreds given the chance."

"I think I can handle it," Ash smiled and nodded.

"...Alright, you're set! Just in time, too; we've only got two spots left and five minutes to showtime!" the woman said. "Get to the locker rooms over there and get your team ready!"

"Right! Thanks!" Ash waved, running to the locker room doors.

**-'-,-'-**

Ash had an interesting time. He was able to command everyone, even Lucario, well enough to win battle after battle, but had a little trouble at times. He went up against quite a few tough cookies and found himself in some tight spots--for instance, he now is with his back to a wall while facing a rock AND a hard place.

"--KAAAH!!" Pikachu cried, slamming to the battlefield floor.

"Pikachu!!" Ash cried from his Trainer's box. Pikachu grunted to get up, then flopped, sprawled and spiral-eyed. Ash ran out and picked up his friend as the judge said he was unable to battle. "You did great, buddy," Ash said, sympathetically smiling at him.

"...H-he's really hard, both on the surface and to beat," the little guy commented as Ash brought him back behind the lines. He was set down next to Lucario, who was sitting, one leg crossed and another with the footpaw on the ground. Resting his arm on the half-standing leg, he looked at Pikachu, who flopped down against the wall by him.

''Good work, but I don't blame you for losing,'' he said. ''This Trainer has some powerful pokémon.''

"And we've got one left, and he's not doing that well," Ash added, maximizing his final ball and throwing it. "Alright, Charizard, get in there and give it all ya got!"

Charizard appeared, panting. "Gr...grooo..." he growled weakly. He was a bit damp, both from sweat and from water. He'd gotten hit pretty hard by a Hydro Pump from a Water-type Pikachu later took out. That's when the massive aggron before him was sent out. Ash growled and said something about how his Fighting-type was out, too--this'll be tricky.

Aggron looked down at Charizard, a bit taller than him, and appeared to smirk. Ash's pokédex couldn't translate other Trainers' pokémon, he found. "Ag...Aggro-ho-hon..." the Rock-/Steel-type chuckled gravely.

Charizard grimaced and growled. "Sh...Shut up, jerk..." he grumbled. He took a deep breath, then stood erect, stamping his foot down as he bugled a challenge.

In the meantime, Ash thought furiously. 'Aggron can use Rock Polish, so I can't take much advantage of Charizard's speed over him...Fire-type attacks would do normal damage, I think...right? Yeah...If I could only use a Fighting- or Ground-type attack...'

"Alright! This final battle between Aggron and Charizard begins NOW!" the judge said, waving both flags down.

"Aggron! Rock Polish again!" Aggron's Trainer ordered.

"Charizard! Get in the air and use Flamethrower to start off!" Ash ordered, pointing. 'This'll get him in a good position to maneuver; while he's not faster than Aggron, per say, he's still more agile since he's got so much space to move in.'

"Right!" Charizard took off, fighting his fatigue. "C'mon, pull yourself together!! You've trained enough in the waterfalls with those seaking to build at least a good mental defense, just REMEMBER!" he muttered to himself between blasts of fire.

'I don't think I can use any good Ground attacks...' Ash continued to think.

"Aggron! End this joke! Dodge that pitiful attack and use Rock Throw!!" the other Trainer commanded.

"AgGRON!" Aggron dashed so fast, you'd think it was a truck coming at you. He then stomped the ground, kicking up a huge rock from the stone floor, and he slapped it with his tail.

"Charizard! Catch it and use Rock Smash back!" Ash quickly commanded, feeling a Reaction Command the way he did in such situations back before this worlds-spanning ordeal began.

"**!**" Charizard barely had time to catch the boulder before it hit him full-force. He was slightly winded and fell a couple feet before turning the fall into a glide.

Ash raised his eyebrows at this. 'Hey...waitaminit...'

Charizard soared in and, like before, smashed the rock with his head. "Gotta find a better way for that!!" he grumbled afterwards, rubbing his skull.

The rock shrapnel slammed into Aggron, who tried to dodge. The attack retained its Fighting-type nature, but the fact it wasn't that strong didn't help much. It still did quadruple damage, making the giant grunt in pain.

'That's it! If I can somehow...because...well...' He sweatdropped as Aggron's next footsteps shook the entire arena. 'That thing's HEAVY, though that attack does better the heavier the target is, I think...Wait, that's Low Kick. Regardless, I think that's the only other Fighting move he knows...Plus, he's GOT to be near Aggron's level...' He looked up at Charizard. 'Can he do it, though?'

Charizard flapped wildly to dodge another Rock Throw, which came faster than he could catch. (He'd taken some damage before when catching, too, and he didn't like the dose of 4x pain, either.)

"Screw it, Rock Slide!"

"GRON!" Aggron punched the ground with immense strength, sending a stream of rocks at Charizard.

"DODGEIT!" Ash yelled frantically.

"DON'T NEED TO TELL ME TWICE!!" Charizard shouted back, flying as fast as he could.

"Keep firing!! Bring it down so we can finish it off!"

Aggron kept smashing the floor of the arena, going pretty fast. The sprays of stone gave Charizard a hard obstacle course to navigate in the air.

Ash thought fast. 'He's in trouble!' "Keep dodging!!...DIVE! CLIMB!"

**_"DO A BARREL ROLL!!"_** screamed the people in the crowd rooting for Ash all at once.

Charizard followed each command--even the last one, done in order to dodge one that came up short of him from the side.

'How can I use this...?' He glanced at Aggron. 'An opening...I need one!' Suddenly, the spray following Charizard turned towards him. "Yaah!" he yelled, dodging a stray. Pikachu and Lucario almost got hit, too. (Pikachu dodged one, Lucario cooly caught another.) Something DID hit Ash, though. 'That's it!' He looked and nodded. 'He's too close to his Trainer!'

At that moment, Charizard got hit by five or six rocks. "GRAAUUGH!!" he roared, starting to fall from the right wing-shoulder hits. He spiraled a bit as he dived down, down, down, eyes crunched shut.

"NO! CHARIZARD!!" Ash cried. A thought came to him, and a smirk flitted upon his face. "YOU _CAN'T_ LOSE! NOT WHEN YOU'VE GOT SUCH A GOOD STREAK!! FOURTY-FOUR WINS, NOW!!"

Charizard's eyes shot open and his pupils thinned. He growled and spread his wings moments before he would slam stomach-first into the ground. He shot off in a glide, going back up. The crowd cheered while he roared, "FOURTY-_FIVE!!_"

_"THAT ONE DIDN'T COUNT!!"_ Charlie roared back from the audience, standing and shaking his fist as Charizard passed their section of the audience. Two humans--a benie-wearing boy and scarfed girl--frowned, bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and grabbed him back down, each using a flap of his jacket.

"SHADDUP, YA SORE LOSER!!" Charizard roared back BACK over his shoulder. His eyes, Charlie saw, were blazing with determination. This made him smile.

"Attaboy," he muttered.

"GAH! Keep going, Aggron!" the Trainer ordered. "(DAMN, that thing's persistent!)"

"When I say so, stop circling but keep dodging!" Ash called to Charizard.

"...Copy that!" Charizard returned, though a little unsure what the plan is.

"Whatever you're gonna do's useless!" taunted the other Trainer. "Your fat lizard's gettin' tired, and there's no way he'll tire MY aggron! Keep it up with Rock Slide!"

The show went on and on...closer...closer...Finally, it was about to go..."CHARIZARD, NOW!" Ash signaled.

Charizard heard from all the way across and quickly pulled a short Immelman maneuver (half-flip + half-roll). He stayed in the same general area around Aggron, doing his best to dodge the shower.

He didn't have long to do this, though.

"AAUUGH!! OW! OW! CRAP! AGGRON, STOP IT! YOU'RE HITTING--OWW!!--ME!! AAAAAAHHH!" the trainer screamed, running around to avoid the attack.

_"!!"_ Aggron stopped, sweatdropping with a paw to his jaw.

'I knew it! I feel bad, but he could've ordered a different attack instead of stopping him!' "I know you can do it, Charizard!" Ash encouraged. He pointed hard at Aggron. "SEISMIC TOSS FOR THE MATCH!!"

Charlie and many others in the audience sweatdropped at this. "I know he's strong, but...?!" he muttered.

Charizard appeared to have the same thoughts before he heard "for the match". Once he heard THAT bit of cheering, he roared and dived as fast as he could.

"Ancientpower!"

But Charizard was too fast. He swooped down and tackled the behemoth midair, lifting up to his signiture circle-the-globe Seismic Toss.

"Give it all ya got, Charizard!!" Ash ordered, clenching a fist from tension.

Charizard circled around again and heard his Trainer's words. His energy cranked up to maximum and he roared, whipping around his axis even faster.

Lucario raised his eyebrows, then entered aura vision. He was amazed at what he found. ''His aura's...burning...!'' He opened his eyes and looked in respect at the flying flamer. ''Such spirit!''

Charizard circled once more. "THERE'S NO WAY I'M GONNA LOSE!!" he thundered, chucking his load down to the ground. But he did something different. He gave chase. Screaming down after Aggron, he held his palms out. "That's a promise!"

Lucario raised his eyebrows as a blast of energy erupted from Charizard's paws, stopping the dragonesque creature's descent and making Aggron nothing but a blur as he sped to the ground. With a world-quaking **BRROOOOM!!**, Aggron created a crater and cloud of dust. When it cleared, Charizard was the first to be seen, panting and hovering where he had stopped himself as he gazed down.

Ash and everyone looked on intensely.

After a few more agonizing seconds, the dust settled around the ground. Aggron lay on his back in the crater, spiral-eyed.

_FWUP!_ "Aggron is unable to battle!" the judge called. The monitor above showed Ash's face as he continued, "The battle goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Ash jumped for joy, cheering. Charizard breathed a sigh of relief and glided down. He smiled weakly as Ash pumped his fist up at his approach. "That was AMAZING, Charizard!! I knew you had it in ya!" smiled the boy.

Charizard chuckled, panting hard as he dropped to the ground, making a semi-dull slamming sound. "Groo...groo...Thanks," he returned, drooping his upper body (including wings and entire neck). He looked up, wiping his brow. "...Gryyyaah, that thing needs to lose a few..."

''That was Focus Blast, wasn't it?'' asked Lucario.

"Groo?" Charizard looked down and to the side and panted a second, figuring out who spoke and the question for a moment. "...Roh. Yeah...Though...I didn't think I'd finally pull it off so well...here..." He flopped down onto his rear, making another slamming sound. "Damn, Ash, put me back, I'm wasted..." he breathed.

Ash smiled and nodded, getting his ball out. "Yeah, you deserve a rest," he said. "Return!" The beam came out and sucked him back in. He looked at the ball and smirked. "Thanks," he said to the ball.

"That was a dirty trick, you...!" the other Trainer accused, walking over. He'd recalled Aggron and was ready to bring some aggro to Ash. He came and prodded Ash in the chest, making his target sweatdrop and look a little lost. "That's no fair! Your stupid pokémon attacked ME! That's against the rules!"

Ash shook his head. "You're right, but my pokémon didn't attack you," he corrected. He smirked. "YOUR pokémon attacked you. All mine did was dodge in the air."

''Besides, you could've made Aggron use something different then or before he got too close,'' added Lucario, nodding.

The Trainer opened his mouth to object, finger up, looking at the two of them, but he stopped as he realized it to be true. He shut his mouth and put his fists to his sides before stomping off. "You got lucky, that's all!" he spat over his shoulder.

"That's part of it!" Ash called back. An aggrivated growl was all that was heard from that. He chuckled and shook his head. "Sore losers..."

This was the most intense battle of the day for Ash as of yet (excluding the near-death battle with Bowser), and was only the semifinal. After getting everyone healed, Ash sat in the locker room while the second semifinal went on. He got his team out to have a little pep talk. After he was finished, he asked, "Any questions before we go out?"

"Yeah," Exexitt said, raising a vine. "What's the point of having both me AND Bulbasaur? We work a lot the same way--our main type is Grass, we use vines a lot, we're small and quick, and we're good at our same-type attacks." He shrugged, rustling his leaves. "Just asking."

Ash half-eyed, smiling wryly. "Well, you got any better ideas?" he asked. "I've already registered all of you guys, and you're the only pokémon I CAN use."

"Yes, but..." Exexitt trailed off, looking away with his eyes.

Bulbasaur raised an eyebrow (eyeridge? He IS a dinosaur...). "Hey, we getting a little unhappy that you've got some competition for the Grass-type of the team?" he asked. Exexitt turned sharply at Bulbasaur, who nodded, eyes closed. "Yep, thought so." Opening one eye, he looked at Ash and asked, "Could you turn off that translating thing for a sec?" Ash raised his eyebrows, but acquiesced. When he was done, Bulbasaur gave a steady, firm look at Exexitt, making eye contact. (This conversation will be translated for you, the reader, however.) "Exexitt, you can't let stupid stuff like that get into your head. It'll just throw you off in battle when you need focus the most. Besides," he added, smirking and cocking his head, "you're acting like a kid."

"Well, I'm not THAT old, you know!" protested Exexitt, leaning over Bulbasaur and blushing a bit.

"That's still no excuse to act immature right now," Bulbasaur scolded curtly, unfazed as he gave a serious look at him. "I've had to deal with tons of pokémon who tried to pick a fight back on Oak's ranch, and I'm not gonna let one pick a fight now. Drop it so we can all be peaceful and calm--something we need to be if we're going to get through the next battle."

Exexitt leaned to neutral position once more, blinking. Bulbasaur's words were strong and confident--very effective. "...But..."

Bulbasaur sighed. "You still confused why Ash would choose you over me?" he asked. Exexitt looked away. Bulbasaur smiled. "Why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't he choose me over you? We're both the same main type, but we're both another type, and we're both different in our own other ways. But I know Ash doesn't care about that sometimes--I know he sometimes uses a pokémon when he wants it to have a chance. He believes in us--all of us--and we have to believe in him. You're not really offending me by being jealous--you're offending him. You're basically questioning his ability as a Trainer, as well as his heart."

"Heart--!" Exexitt breathed, almost freezing.

Bulbasaur nodded. "Just trust him, and don't worry if he doesn't use you at all, even. You're still of value--and I don't mean that in a creul way at all--so don't worry, alright?" he asked, close-eye smiling and cocking his head a bit.

Exexitt looked at him for a moment, then at Ash. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Alright," he said. "I trust Ash. I should've trusted him more. I won't make that mistake again, though!" He narrowed his eyebrows determinedly.

Bulbasaur opened his eyes and nodded. "That's great! Thank you very much, Exexitt!" he said. He nodded at Ash, vine coming and pointing at his pocket.

"Oh, the translator?" Ash guessed. A nod. "Okay." He turned it on again and chuckled a little, disappointed smile on his face. "I take it I missed hearing your famous skills as a diplomat, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I mentioned you, and if you made any movement or sound, it might've distracted Exexitt and thrown things off," explained Bulbasaur.

"Really?" Ash asked, surprised. "Wow...You're really mature, you know?" he asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

Bulbasaur blushed. "Well, I kinda have to be in these situations," he dismissed.

Ash chuckled and smiled at his pokémon.

***-*-***

*The Squirtle Squad is racing around the Arena, being carried by Officer Jenny and her motorcycle.*

Jenny: COMIN' THROUGH!

*People dive out of the way or fly off when hit. She finally stops in front of a restaurant.*

Jenny: *makes shooing motion with arm* Go, go, go!

*The Squirtle Squad jumps out and dashes in.*

Woman's voice: Huh? The Squirtle Squad? *chuckling* Wh-he-here's the fire?

*Water Guns are heard going off.*

Woman: Blubub-_HEY!_ _WH_a-glububgg-are you _doing?!_ BLubBAglUB!...

*A moment later, The Squirtle Squad stops. They come back and hop in again. Jenny motors off once more.*

Jenny: Honestly, haven't they learned to not let Anju cook? *rolls eyes*

***-*-***

Sorry for the Majora's Mask inside joke, those who haven't played! Yeah, lotsa fighting. Just wait 'til the NEXT one! (Oh, and I know Ash is pulling some stuff he might not, usually, but A) he kinda has to, and B) I'm not spending hours devising each and every battle like the pros do. I could, but that'd waste more of my summer vacation (which I'm wasting already; I've got reading to do for college ALREADY X.X). I'm also sorry if anyone's displeased at the amount of pagetime Charizard's getting, or at the amount of cutscene stuff. (Then, well, you should be used to it if you've read up 'til now...heh-heh-heh...)


	12. 03: Poké Armed to the Key's Teeth

After that, they had to go out and into the final. It was one tense battle, indeed, even though it was only three-on-three.

"GgGGGGG!"

"Nnnnn!!"

Charizard, scratched and bruised, was locking paws and wrestling with a gallade.

"Come on, Charizard! You can do it!" cheered Ash.

"C'mon, Galvan! You've taken charizard before!! Throw this guy DOWN!" encouraged the girl commanding the Psychic-/Fighting-type.

"I'm NOT letting you destroy my winning streak! NOT when I'm almost fifty-nothing!" Charizard growled through gritted teeth.

Galvan merely continued to grunt in strain.

The girl Trainer raised her eyebrows, then cocked her head, lowering one. "Well, hate to break it to ya, big guy, but your winning streak's gotta end sometime!" she taunted.

Ash raised his eyebrows at this. "Huh? But I'm only in range for the pokédex itself to translate--how could you hear it?" he asked.

The Trainer winked. "I can understand Dragon-types, and I guess Charizard, as well," she said, smiling playfully. "I don't need a fancy pokédex mod!"

Ash pouted. "Well, sor-ry for being normal," he muttered. He met Lucario's eyes and looked up into the sky, sweatdropping slightly. "Well, mostly," he corrected himself, scratching the back of his head.

Charizard skidded back a bit. "GGGRR! Shit! Ash!" he called over his shoulder. "Let's do like you did during the Brawl, please!"

"WUSSIEEEE!!" the girl jeered, making a face and Charizard anger-vein.

"I ONLY CONSIDER A BATTLE LOST WHEN I FAINT!!" he roared back. He grunted heavily and skidded a foot, barely able to keep from being thrown down.

"But this'll be a good idea, anyway! Let's save you for later, Charizard! Good job!" Ash said, returning him to his ball. He looked at Lucario. "You're up, buddy!" he said, smiling.

''Alright,'' Lucario bowed. He trotted out there and got into stance. 'He's pitting me against a Psychic-type. Why, oh, why must he always do things the hard way?'

"Alright! Galvan, hit 'im with a good ol' Psychic!" ordered the Trainer.

"Gal." Galvan nodded, raising his arms and lighting up his eyes.

"Turn on your aura vision and dodge it!" Ash ordered as soon as his brain registered the opponent's order.

'**!** Of course!' Lucario quickly did it and was able to dodge in time. He had seen a strange, violet force closing towards him from almost all directions. He had to time it just right, or he would be grabbed anyway--like being grabbed physically. He decided to keep his aura vision on to see psychic energy.

"--! Wh--!? How?!" the Trainer whined.

"Later! Lucario, regular Double Team!" Ash ordered.

Lucario dashed around as fast as he could, creating the (in)famous ring of illusions.

"Psh!" scoffed the girl Trainer, batting a hand and looking away, as if it were childish. "That's the oldest trick in the book to buy time! Galvan, Foresight!"

Galvan's eyes went red and he quickly spun a circle, emitting the sweeping beam. In half a second, all of the illusions were gone and the ring was no more.

Wait, what?

"Steel Claw!" Ash ordered.

Galvan and his Trainer looked up in time to see Lucario appear in the air above. He came down and, using his spike-grown claws, unleashed a double slash on Galvan.

"Quick, again!" Ash ordered, taking advantage of the fact Galvan was flinching just slightly.

Lucario executed a three-hit combo--left, right, crossing slash! Galvan was thrown back a few feet.

"Oooh, nice claws!" complimented the girl. She pointed. "Hypnosis!"

Lucario wasn't able to escape in time and was hit. This, of course, didn't mean it worked. Thanks to the fact his eyes were shut, he was better able to resist what was really a very, VERY powerful suggestion to sleep. (See, the only way hypnosis (real) works is if you WANT it to work. Go AP Psych! A way I figured out Hypnosis (Pokémon) could work is that it telepathically sends a powerful suggestion to the opponent, like shoving something in front of you, only directly into your mind. It's assisted by mesmerization through eye contact. Another simple explanation is that it just directly hijacks your mind a sec and flips on the switch that says you're awake or asleep.)

"Oh, come ON!" the girl growled, fists thrusting down to her sides and shoulders squaring.

"Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.

"GRAB IT!!" the girl squeaked quickly.

Lucario WAS grabbed, to his surprise. ''You're fast,'' he commented to Galvan. Galvan merely nodded.

"Vital Throw!"

Galvan spun and slammed poor Lucario to the ground. The attack was super-effective thanks to Lucario's Steel type. He shouted in agony as his body bounced once against the hard ground.

"LUCARIO!! C'mon, we gotta give these guys some payback," Ash called.

Lucario grunted as he got up to his elbows, listening to Ash. When he heard the last word, his eyes widened slightly and he nodded. ''Right!'' He leaped up and landed a roaring punch right to Galvan's face.

Ash blinked a moment. "What the--?" he muttered. "I didn't..."

''You said Payback, right?'' Lucario smirked at him.

Galvan staggered a little, grimacing from the 1x damage Dark-type attack. His Trainer pouted. "No fair, he didn't technically call that," she said.

"Well, I'm sure calling this! Finish him off with Metal Claw!" Ash ordered, pointing.

"Dodge it, dodge it!" the Trainer called. "Uuuh, Detect!"

Galvan tried, Lucario slashing quickly, one after the other. However, as swift he was, he was unable to successfully anticipate a clever move by Lucario. He swung as if giving a palm-up chop, then, when that missed, quickly brought it up, claws' points stabbing to the sky. Galvan didn't expect this and was hit. He got slashed by another combo slash and was unable to do more than stand, eye open, and say, "Lade," or "Good," and faint.

"Galvan is unable to battle! The round goes to Ash and Lucario!" the judge announced, holding the appropriate flag.

Lucario panted, claws returning to spikes and ending their glow. ''Glad that's over with,'' he muttered.

The Trainer pouted and recalled Galvan. When she heard this, she smiled and giggled menacingly. "Oh, that's over with, yes," she agreed. She looked up with a gleam in her eyes. "But now you've made me MAD!" She grabbed her final ball, a great ball. "Alright, Sally! Lunch time!!" she sang, letting fly the ball.

'''Sally'?'' 'Tanglebag, Galvan, and Sally...Judging by her naming habits, this one should be...a...' Lucario began musing before his eyes grew bigger and bigger as the form of white light from the ball did. He took a step back, looking upwards. ''...Good heavens...''

"Holy Toledo..." Ash gaped quietly, gazing at the huge form. The pokémon finally formed entirely. The light broke, and a ground-shaking roar announced the arrival of Sally the gargantuan Salamence.

Looking through the semi-translucent top of his ball at the battle, Charizard raised his eyeridges. "And I thought the elder shiny back home took the cake," he murmured. "This thing takes the whole BAKERY."

Sally bent down her car-sized head at Lucario. "Quit pulling my tail, Nikki--this one could only be a side dish," she joked, Ash (to his great surprise and confusion) able to understand her from the pokédex.

Nikki, her Trainer, laughed. "Well, let's get rid of it, then," she said. "Judge?"

The judge held up his flags. "This match of Sally versus Lucario...begins!" he announced.

He had no sooner waved both flags down than Nikki ordered, "STOMP!"

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!" Ash yelped.

''I know!'' Lucario replied, a little unnerved by the size of the creature above him. 'One carelessly-controlled Stomp, and I'm--'

**boom.**

"GRRAAAAA--aaaa--UGH...!!"

A strangled scream rang out of Lucario's throat, pupils dilated. He was half trapped underneath the ultra-sized right front paw, unable to move quick enough. And it didn't look like Sally was being merciful with her weight, either. She was casually, slowly, leaning forwards a little bit.

Ash looked in horror at the scene. "Are you NUTS?! You could break his bones or something!!" he cried, being the one to object to the opponent this time.

Nikki giggled and put a hand under her chin. "Oh, it's only fair for the dirty tricks this guy's played on us," she said.

At THIS, though, Sally let up and turned her huge neck to face Nikki, giving a hard glare. "Nik-kiiiii..." she growled warningly.

Nikki sweatdropped. "Ah, I was just joking! Really! Heheheh!" she squeaked nervously.

"You'd better," Sally threatened. She swung her head back to the front.

Lucario gasped, feeling the intense pain fading slowly. ''It...almost feels like you DID break something...'' he said weakly.

"Up."

Lucario grunted and turned his head up. ''What?''

The salamence glared at him, head inches away. _"Up,"_ she ordered again. "You can still fight."

Lucario grunted and got up slowly. He stood on his feet and got into stance. 'She's right--I'm only in a state of shock, expecting my body to break under such a weight...' He shook his head and took a deep breath, calming himself. ''Ash, I'm ready,'' he said confidently.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "If you say so," he said. He pointed. "Alright, uh, Force Palm!" 'Like THAT will do any good...We're not in a Brawl, so his aura's as strong as it was when he first went out...'

Lucario tried to attack, but Nikki was serious. "Fly!"

Up went Sally, blowing Lucario back with the force of her wings blowing the air around. The giant dragoness flew up rather terrifyingly high.

Ash smiled sadly. "Lucario, this isn't going to end well," he said softly. "Let's get some damage in with your best move, though!" He pointed. "Aura Sphere!"

Lucario nodded and began to charge it. He was able to release it right when Sally came charging back down. He hit, causing enough damage to make her wince, but was struck back, knocking Ash over and back a couple feet. When Ash rubbed his head and looked at Lucario, he was spiral-eyed.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Sally..." the judge rattled on.

"Great job, Lucario," Ash said softly, gently setting him to the sidelines.

Lucario awoke, opening his eyes slowly. He smiled sorrily at Ash. ''I...did my best, at least,'' he said.

Ash nodded, smiling. He then turned, frowning in thought. 'Shoot...Lucario and everyone are too small to use an effective Low Kick on this thing...but I know the only way I can get her onto the ground and out is if I hit her with her own weight!' As his thoughts turned to his pokémon, he lowered his head and put a hand to his chin in thought. 'I don't want to try and have Charizard do anything, since he'd probably drop his winning streak like a stone...Pikachu MIGHT be able to handle her, since his Electric attacks would be strong enough to do good damage, but he might get hit pretty hard...Squirtle's out, he just can't do much right now...What if Bulbasaur could poison her with Poisonpowder? Shoot, he'd have to get up close, and even then, he's got only mostly Grass-type attacks at his disposal...Or, wait, maybe I can flood the field with Squirtle, after all, forcing her into the air or making her slip...And Charizard could outmaneuver her in the air and maybe take a few more hits--he's way more stubborn than he looks and he's not as tired as he was last time--and then fire off Dragonbreath...'

"You smell of a different kind of pokémon, boy."

The deep growling voice of Sally brought Ash jumping out of his pondering. He turned partway around and saw her, again uncomfortably close. 'She does this on purpose, I know it...' He gulped and stood bravely, asking, "What do you mean?"

"I remember the scent of one of the last pokémon I met in a final round. This one is different--but has the same kind of strange quality. It's also interesting in how strong it is--considering I can barely smell it at all," she described.

Ash raised an eyebrow at this. "Ummm..."

"You're smelling nothing but something, aren't you?" Pikachu asked from Ash's side, cocking his head.

"Correct," Sally said, nodding. "I want to face THAT pokémon."

Ash blinked in surprise. "...You..." 'Wait...maybe...Yeah. He's faced big guys before. She's also slightly weakened by Lucario--I saw her wince when the Aura Sphere struck her.' He nodded. "Right! Uhm...Could you get back, first, please?" he asked, sweatdropping. She obeyed, stepping back a bit and raising her head. "Alright, by popular demand..." Ash grabbed the Light Ball. He looked at it for a moment. "I believe in you," he told its inhabitant, and threw it, "EXEXITT!!"

Exexitt came out and shouted his battlecry--then stopped midway when he saw Sally look at him.

''Aaaaannnd there goes half of his physical attack power,'' Lucario commented, grimacing and crossing his arms from his seat.

"Intimidate, I know," Ash nodded, mouth in a grim line.

"...May I ask what the HECK you're smoking?!" Exexitt asked weakly over his shoulder. "I'll be turned into a sheet of clean, white paper by this thing!!"

Meanwhile, pokédexes all around were trying to blip Exexitt, but to no avail. Oak hadn't been able to upgrade everyone's pokédex or give them new ones yet. Ash looked up at Sally, wondering what hell she was going to unleash.

"The match between Nikki's Sally and Ash's Exexitt shall now begin!" the judge announced.

"Flamethrower!" Nikki ordered.

"Dodge it, please!" Ash called.

The two pokémon sprang to action. Sally stepped back and let loose a column of thick flames, but Exexitt proved his speed and jumped away.

"Please jump around and use Poisonpowder!" Ash ordered.

"Ex!" Exexitt did as he was told. He jumped first onto her leg, shaking his head a bit to loosen the violet-glinting powder. He then leaped up to her shoulder, then to the middle of her back.

"Bite him off!" Nikki pointed.

"But--I hate--cauliflower!" joked Sally between snaps, neck turned to get at him with difficulty. Exexitt leaped right, left, and right--off of her back...until he shot out some vines, wrapped them around the base of her neck, and swung around to her other shoulder, releasing poisonpowder into the air around her.

"Nice save!" Pikachu complimented, holding a tiny fist up.

"Just a little more...!" Ash whispered, clenching his fists tensely. 'If we can poison her, we can at least play keep-away with Charizard while he uses Dragonbreath!'

Exexitt dashed quickly up her neck before stopping on her head and shaking what...He resisted stopping to wonder if he HAS a momma and shook extra power onto her head before leaping off and away, tucking his legs in before they were bitten off. He flipped once and landed on all of his legs in front of Ash. "Voila!" he said, startling Ash with the perfect Human (he knew that it would have translated that into English) as he stood straight.

"Since when did YOU speak French?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sally! You're alright, right?" asked Nikki worriedly.

Sally moaned slightly, paling a little. "Little shrub got me," she admitted bitterly.

"And the rest should be absorbing through your scales...now," Exexitt added, turning, and nodded at the right time.

Sally's color went definitely pale as the poison began to take full effect. "_Urgh!_ Poison--so underhanded, but fair game in battles," described Sally.

"Well, let's see past this! Rock Tomb and lower its speed!" Nikki ordered.

"Rock Tomb?!" Ash repeated. "Can salamence learn that?"

"Can bunearys learn Ice Beam?" Pikachu asked, half-eyeing and smiling wryly.

Sally stomped the ground, then came up with four boulders in her paw. She tossed underhand them at Exexitt...who was quite close to Ash.

"WOULD PEOPLE QUIT THROWING ROCKS AT ME?!" Ash complained, waving his arms and legs in panic as he scuttled side-to-side. He stopped and pointed, ordering very quickly, "Please cut them apart with as powerful a Razor Leaf as you can muster!"

'Magical Leaf'd be better for me...' Regardless, Exexitt rocked his head back for a second. Then, right at the last moment, he threw it forth again, unleashing almost his entire head of leaves at the boulders. (Of course, nothing detatched from his body proper, but by all rights, with as many as he threw, something should've.) The mini Leaf Storm slashed them apart and went right at Sally, on whom they landed a critical hit if her surprised grunt said anything. The rock debris rained around harmlessly.

"Okay, this is getting annoying, Nikki! Let me do this, please!" Sally called over her shoulder. She winced as the poison sapped her strength.

"We can't! It's not an official Slasher battle!" Nikki replied morosely. "I'd let you handle it, otherwise, for sure! C'mon, let's try and use Fire Spin!"

"Finally," Sally rolled her eyes. She spat a stream of fire out at Exexitt.

"Get away from it!" Ash waved his hand.

"I'll try!" Exexitt dashed away, but the Dragon-type could control her stream very well. It followed him, catching up even when he went on top of her again. "ZEEEET!!" he cried in pain as it encircled him, burning him. "PAINPAINPAIN!! DAMN, I HATE FIRE!!"

'Nuts!' Ash thought fast. 'He has to do SOMEthing...wait!' "Hurry! Charge through and use Tackle on her face!" he pointed.

"EEEEEEEHHHH..." Exexitt yelled as he barreled out, a ball of flame, and jumped right at her head. _"...XITT!!"_ _FWISH!_ He headbutted her in the face. He got her in the eyes.

"SAL_AAA!_" Sally cried, squeezing them shut. "My eyes!"

Exexitt landed, putting himself out by rolling on the ground. He got up, dusty but alright, and glared up at Sally. "I'm getting tired of my leaves turning black!!" he grumbled.

"Alright, what can we do..." Ash muttered, starting to think.

"Ash! Wait! Tell him to try Sinister Sundown!" Pikachu interrupted quickly.

Ash blinked a second. 'Sinister Sundown?' He nodded. 'Pikachu sounds like he knows what he's talking about...' "Please try Sinster Sundown!" he ordered.

Exexitt started, then nodded. It almost looked like he might be smirking, but his mouth was never visible. "Good choice!" And he vanished.

"Huh?!" Ash and Nikki went at once.

A short moment passed, Sally opening her watery eyes. "You're gonna--_ngh!_--pay for that!" she spat, leering at the spot he was at and grunting from poison. She blinked her eyes open and clear in surprise when he wasn't there, or anywhere she looked. "...Hullo?" she muttered.

"BEHIND YOU!!" Nikki screamed.

She was too late. Sally was assaulted by silver-white energy bullets from all around her. "AAAAUGH!" A gigantic blast wailed her from behind, sending her down and forwards a little bit. The energy bullet disappated to reveal Exexitt, who landed neatly in front of Ash.

"Great call, great chance to use it," Exexitt commented as he touched down. "Or was that eye thing only to buy time?"

"It was SUPPOSED to just buy some time," Ash replied, frowning concernedly. "That seemed kinda cheap..."

"DAMN RIGHT IT WAS!!" Nikki hollered. "What was THAT?!"

"Something that he shall PAY for!!" thundered Sally, standing straight again. Her eyes were glowing, for some reason. "You wish to play that way? FINE! Nikki, LET ME AT HIM!!"

"THEN TAKE THEM DOWN!!" Nikki complied, pointing. Sally roared again and began to barrel forwards.

Ash thought fast. "Quick! Shoot your vines underground, please!" he ordered, pointing at the ground around Exexitt.

The Nobody-type did as he was told, firing two vines, one on either side of him, into the ground.

"Push them forwards..." Ash said.

Sally was getting closer--MUCH closer. It appeared she was using Take Down, since Nikki had told her to "take them down".

"GRASS KNOT!!" Ash shouted, pointing.

"A-HAH!" Exexitt went, realizing the plan. He drove his vines up through the ground a distance away and formed a large vine loop. "...This is gonna hurt..."

"And it should hurt her enough, despite the quartered damage the attack will cause!" Ash hoped aloud.

Sally, too blinded by rage to notice, caught a footpaw on the loop. Exexitt braced himself, body creaking a bit as he croaked a grunt.

"Only a bit more--!" Ash cheered.

Sally's footpaw stuck in the loop, and, with a roar, she fell forwards and down, all her 1,000+ lbs following after her. The slam made an even bigger crater than in the last match, and Ash was caught in the shockwave since he was so close. "UWWAAHH!" he yelled, thrown back a bit. As he flew through the air with everyone else on his side, the ground quickly broke away to a crater, pelting him and his companions with rocks. He grunted after he landed on his back. "NGH! Oww!!" He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Huh?" He looked up and saw Sally facedown in the middle of the crater, which wasn't a true crater; it just SLIGHTLY fanned out from her front, not in a completely perfect circle around her. It was darn close, though. Ash smirked and stood up quickly. "Alright! That HAD to hurt!" he said victoriously.

The dust cleared and showed she was grunting, getting up slowly. "I...am such...a fool..." she berated herself weakly.

"C'mon! You can recover faster than that! Show them your Fire Blast as fast as you can!" Nikki pumped her fists.

Sally opened her mouth, inhaling the dusty air. Her throat began to glow...

Ash widened his eyes in alarm. "! It's not over yet! Exexitt, get away as fast as you can!" he looked at him.

Exexitt was having a little trouble getting up, himself. A leg was caught under a rock! "I would if I could!" he said. He turned and sent out some vines to the rock, wrapping them around it and tugging. "Eeeeeex!!" he groaned, eyes squeezing shut.

"Almost there!" Nikki breathed.

Sally's mouth was glowing, too, now...

"C'mon!" Ash begged.

"EEEEEX!"

"Please!!"

Exexitt's eyes opened, the word registering. Strength renewed, he yelled and pulled harder on the rock. Ash noticed it was caught under another, larger rock, which itself was away from his foot (as in, not above it).

The Fire Blast came out with another roar, the kanji character flying straight forwards to Exexitt.

"EXEXITT!" Ash cried.

_CRICK!_ The rock came free!

**FWOOOOMPSH!!** And the Fire Blast hit!

"No--!" Ash grunted, shielding his eyes from the heat. He saw, though, an UNBURNING pair of vines around a swinging rock. He gasped, then shouted the first thing that came to mind: "ROCK THROW!!"

On the next tumble, Exexitt let the rock, which had shot out from under the heavier one to give him some momentum, fly out from his grip. It sailed for Sally's head and hit in the middle of her eyes. And, if her cry said anything, it still counted as a Rock-type attack, which meant her Flying type was weak against it!

"SALLY!!" Nikki cried, hand out.

Exexitt skidded to a stop, panting and putting a vine to his chest. "That...was too close!"

Sally rested her head on the ground with a thud. She wheezed, fighting to stay conscious. "You...You...clever child..." she went. Suddenly, she cringed, eyes widening a bit. "_URK!_...Mmmmmeeennnnnnnnncceeee..." Her head settled entirely to the ground, her movements halted, and her eyes went spirally.

"Sally is unable to battle!" the judge announced, holding a flag. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town wins the match and the tournament!!"

Ash gaped in amazement. It was an even more intense battle than before, and he had won. His little, tiny Exexitt had beaten the largest salamence he'd ever seen! A smile came to his face and he bunched up. "MmmmmmMMMMM--" He shot up, pumping a fist. "_YYEEEAAAAAHHH!!_ WE WON!! WE WON!!"

His jubilation made his pokémon all smile at him a bit. Exexitt chuckled, "I'm glad...to be of assistance," before fainting, himself.

Nikki gaped, disbelief in her eyes. "Beaten...again..." she muttered. She then humphed and crossed her arms. "Aw, come on! That's it, I'm NEVER entering a tourney where there's a Brawler involved!!" she decided. She couldn't help but smile. "But still, that was a great battle." She walked down and trotted to Sally, sliding down her side of the crater.

"Great work, Exexitt," Ash said to his pokémon, lifting him up. Exexitt opened his eyes slightly and gave another little chuckle. Ash smiled sympathetically and held the Light Ball again, returning him. "You deserve a rest."

"Sally? You doing alright?" asked Nikki, bending down near her huge head. "C'mon, don't tell me you threw the battle! That was a Grass-type attack, it didn't do anything!"

Rumbling a groan, Sally opened her eyes. "Mnnnn..." She looked over at her Trainer. "My size worked against me again, Nikki," she said faintly, smiling weakly. "I was also poisoned--that's what did me in. That, and that amazing Trainer's talents and his well-trained pokémon," she added, looking at Ash.

Ash raised his eyebrows and stood up, pointing to himself. "Huh? You talking about me?" he asked.

Nikki chuckled and Sally rumbled, the latter making the ground shake again (to Ash's displeasure as he waved his arms to keep standing). "Yeah," Nikki said, walking over. She held a hand out. "Good game."

Ash smiled and took it. "Same here," he agreed.

The crowd cheered. Abruptly, streamers burst from nowhere, the victory theme for the Pokémon world played, and the big scoreboard flashed with Ash's picture and his roster. "CHAMPION" was emblazoned across it.

Ash looked all around at the people clapping for him, then blushed and smiled sheepishly, putting a hand behind his neck. "Aw, thanks, we worked hard," he said.

"Ash Ketchum!" called a voice. Ash looked and saw Mr. Announcer, a man from the EBA world who appeared wherever there needed to be an announcer--be it on the news, at a tournament, or for an art show. He was smiling and walking towards him down the crater, mic to mouth. "Con-GRATulations! You've won battle after battle and come out on top! How was it?" He held the mic to Ash's mouth.

Ash, caught by surprise a little, could only say, "Uhm..."

"Was it intense?" asked Mr. Announcer, switching mic targets back and forth breifly.

Ash got his senses back and nodded, smiling. "You'd better believe it!" he said. "I owe it to my pokémon, who all worked together for this win!"

"That's great! What a good guy!" Mr. Announcer commented, looking out at the audience. "Now, Ash, this tournament has a little surprise for the victor," he said, turning back to Ash. He dug in his pocket before taking a small bag out. "This here's valuable stuff, but it's too gorgeous just to sell! Take it and take it proudly, champ!" As Ash took it, he turned again to the audience. "LET'S HEAR IT ONE MORE TIME FOR ASH KETCHUM!!"

The crowd roared.

*****OBTAINED Beautiful Material*****

**-'-,-'-**

Ash breathed a sigh of relief after healing his pokémon and his friend. "WOO! That last battle had me on my toes!" he said. He smiled around him at Pikachu and Lucario. "I knew we could win, though. Thanks, guys!"

"No problem!" Pikachu replied, smiling.

''It was my pleasure,'' Lucario nodded. ''Me, Pikachu, and your other pokémon all gained valuable combat experience.''

"Yeah," he said. 'I wonder how close Exexitt is to evolving, now...' Ash opened the doors to the exit and stopped, sweatdropping. "Uuuuh..."

A hoarde of screaming fans was there, waiting for him. They made more noise and crowded to him.

Ash blushed. "Wow, am I that good?" he asked.

''We need to get through this, or else we're never going to get out in time,'' Lucario muttered, sweatdropping.

"Right!" Ash nodded, then began to try and wade through. "Excuse me! Pardon me! We've got to be somewhere, sorry!" he said as he went. It was no use; nobody listened. "Darnit!" He looked at Pikachu. "Plan B, buddy!" he nodded.

"Got it!" Pikachu jumped up and released a short, weak blast of elecricity around him. The crowd yelped and cleared away a bit. This gave the troupe enough time to dash out.

Once in fresh air again, they stopped to take a breath and to search for a save disc for Ash's sake. ''Ash.'' Ash looked at his friend. ''Let's head to my room. It's quiet and cool there. We can rest for a while.''

"Alright," Ash nodded.

Once there, Ash used the save disc and went to a chair to sit. "Phew! Okay, I'm getting a little tired of battling for once," he said. "So many--! It felt like I was in the League again!"

"We did better than we did back at the Wharfton Cup, though," Pikachu commented, "and it was about as intense."

"Heh, yeah," Ash said, smiling a little at the memory. "I think I still have the awards they gave us before...yeah," he said, shuddering slightly at the memory.

''What's in the bag?'' Lucario asked curiously, tilting his head as he came over.

"Oh, I haven't checked yet," Ash said, bring the pouch from a pocket in his backpack. He opened it and dumped the contents out. It was a beautifully shining blue gemstone, cut into a sphere. Ash marveled at it, gazing at its infinite depths. "Wooooooow...it IS gorgeous," he whispered in awe.

Lucario's mouth fell open. ''Of all things--!!'' he went. He nodded and looked at Ash seriously. ''Ash, could I take that for a moment? I'll give it all back, I promise.''

Ash looked up questioningly. "Er...okay," he said. He gave it to Lucario.

''I'll be right back,'' he said before dashing out the door.

"Wh--?! Lucario!!" Ash objected, getting up and looking down the hall after him, frowning. "What're you stealing that for?!"

''Something you'll like,'' Lucario's telepathic voice came back faintly as he got farther away.

Ash furrowed his brow. "What's that jackal up to?" he wondered.

"Let's wait here for him," Pikachu suggested.

Ash agreed and sat, waiting. He spent the time looking through his pokédex at the entries for the Heartless and Nobodies he's faced. They were arranged similarly to how the pokédex did pokémon. A black and violet pokéball was the wheel for the Heartless, and a white and silver one was for the Nobodies. They weren't numbered, and instead were in alphabetical order until the bottom, where special ones were. The first one of those he found was Twilight Thorn. It had no data except for the name and picture. He raised his eyebrows and selected "Enter Data".

"Alright, let's see..." He began to fill it in from memory.

**Twilight Thorn**

A really huge Nobody that I met in my dreams when I was at Destiny Islands. It held me up by energy shackles and tried to get me. I was able to use my aura through things I later learned to be called Reaction Commands to defeat it. It liked summoning up some Dusks, which was annoying. They went away after a while, thankfully.

He smiled at the entry after reading it aloud. "That's good! I'm not bad at this, am I, Pikachu?" he asked, looking at his friend.

Pikachu smiled a bit, but his eyebrows told a different story. "Uuuhmm...Ash? I don't think that sounds very professional..." he muttered.

Ash groaned and hung his upper body. "Oh, come on...What should I put, then?" he asked, frowning at him.

"Maybe make it less vague, don't use the first person...?" Pikachu suggested.

"I'll just take it to Oak later," he said, exiting from the Bestiary. "Meanwhile, I think I'll look at this other thing he put in..." He searched and found the Journal. "Alright! Let's fill THIS in. At least this one will be alright no matter what," he said, looking at Pikachu and sticking his tongue out.

Pikachu just stuck his right back.

**-'-,-'-**

''I'm sorry it took so long,'' Lucario apologized as he came back in. He closed the door and went to Ash. ''What're you doing?'' he inquired.

"Finishing up filling in the rest of this journal of things up 'til now," he answered, looking up from the screens and smiling for a sec. "...And Lucario just came in..." he read aloud as he wrote, using a keyboard on the bottom touch screen and his fingertip. He saved it and shut the 'dex. "So, what were YOU doing?" he asked, putting it away.

''You know that stone that was on each one of Sir Aaron's gloves?'' asked Lucario.

"Yeah, those blue gems," Ash nodded.

Lucario gave him back the sphere. It had a perfect slice taken off a side. ''Heh, now you can stand it up without something to hold it,'' Lucario joked when Ash noticed this. ''But it still would be hard not to send rolling...'' This was true. The slice was very small (but fairly large compared to the rest of the ball).

"What'd you do to it?" Ash asked, raising his eyebrows. "And what do the gems on the gloves have to..." He stopped, widening his eyes. He snapped them back to the sphere he was putting back in the pouch. "Hey! This looks JUST like it!" he exclaimed.

''Precisely,'' Lucario said. He smiled and reached into the small messenger bag-turned-belt bag he'd had since Traverse Town and modified while he was out just then. (He'd take it off whenever he had to battle or Brawl, then put it back on again.) Taking something out of a small pocket, he held his paw out. Upon it sat a badge. It was the slice of the aura gem, set onto a plate of black metal around it. A blue, glittering crescent moon, probably done with powdered aura gem, curved around to it from the right, lending to the entire badge's circular shape. He explained, ''This is the Aura Badge. Harmony and I made it for you. Building off of the power of the clothing Clan Nutsy gave you to enhance its effects, it acts like Sir Aaron's gloves, letting you tap into your aura further with greater ease. You would most likely be able to unlock to potential of your body further as a result. I think that you would do well in using it if you plan on entering that fighting competition.''

Ash took it in a bit of amazement, looking at it. He held it to the lights above. It shone brightly. He smiled, first at no one, then at Lucario. "Thanks, buddy," he said, nodding. And, as Ash tradition goes, he stood up and went, "Alright! I got...an Aura Badge!!" while turning and posing with it.

"Pi-pikachu!!" Pikachu went, the pokédex neglecting to translate whatever he said.

Lucario sweatdropped. ''...Erm...''

"Don't ask," Pikachu said, sweatdropping and smiling sorrily.

*****OBTAINED Aura Badge!! (Unlocks human aura users' potential...)*****

After pinning it to the inside of his vest, Ash looked at his new Aura Badge, sitting beside the one he got in Traverse Town (that he had decided to call the Drive Badge after hearing what it could do from the FFTA folks). "Heh." He looked at Pikachu. "Hey, you know when that fighting tourney is?" he asked.

"Shouldn't be too soon," he answered. "I think we've got a bit of time to wait."

"Good!" Ash held a fist up. "I want to give this Aura Badge a shot and practice for the tourney. Anyone wanna come with?" he asked.

''How would you do this?'' asked Lucario, crossing his arms.

"There's GOT to be a place around here that's devoid of people," he reasoned.

"True--there are the ground floor tunnels that go beneath the stone bleachers on the first floor," Pikachu admitted. "They're dangerous, too...but that's the point, right?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep! Besides, we can always run if we need to," he pointed out. "'Run away and live to fight another day,' I think that saying goes, right?"

''Something like that,'' Lucario confirmed, nodding. ''Well, I don't want you getting hurt out there, so I will accompany you.''

"You think I'd let you go without me?" Pikachu asked, smiling and hopping to Ash's shoulder.

"Alright, thanks, guys!" Ash said. He turned to the door. "Well, let's go."

They traveled out to the arena floor. They were repairing it before the next tournament. "I guess we got a bit rough, huh?" he asked, laughing.

''That's an understatement.'' Lucario sweatdropped at the damage.

They got to the first floor bleachers before finding a ramp downwards. A guard there stopped them before they went inside. "You don't want to go here," he warned them. "Heartless have been appearing down there, making it dangerous. This is especially significant because of a unique kind found here, called Brawlers. If you don't know genuine martial arts, you're a dead man."

Pikachu held up his paw, showing his light stamp.

The guard started. "Oh! You're Brawlers, yourself, then!" he said. He stepped aside. "Be careful."

Ash thanked him and they went on.

Ash led down to the corridors. It was dimly lit, but they could see well enough. Regardless, Lucario went into aura vision breifly. ''The aura around here is dimmer than outside, but not completely out,'' he described, opening his eyes. ''Perhaps areas like this where Heartless spawn at any time are different from the times we've encountered?''

"Maybe," Ash shrugged. He looked around. "Well, why don't we walk about a bit and fight some things?"

So they went. It didn't take long before Ash felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on-end. "Yeek! That's uncomfortable," he muttered before Heartless appeared around them. It was a moderately small group, consisting of four Soldiers, a pair of spellcaster hourglass things (they couldn't tell well which kind in the light), and two new ones. "Those must be the Brawlers," Ash said, summoning the Keyblade and simultaneously putting a hand to his belt.

"Hey, you think they've had enough for a while?" Pikachu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ash furrowed his brow. "...True. I gotta get stronger, too," he said, nodding. He took a look at the situation breifly. "Alright, let's take some shots at the aerial ones if they get on our nerves, but focus on the Soldiers! Lucario, we'll each take a Brawler, how 'bout that?"

''Sounds good,'' Lucario nodded, and the battle began.

Ash found the Brawlers (recap from other fic: simple-shaped, rounded creatures whose only defining features are balled fists, shoed feet, and orange scarves and sashes) a LOT harder than any normal enemy. They blocked, deflected, and caught his attacks like they were nothing. Lucario appeared to be having a bit of a time, as well, but he was able to manage well, combating martial arts with martial arts. ''While my moves are mostly forgotten, my knowledge of fighting hasn't,'' he reasoned after the battle.

Lucario finished off his Brawler before Ash did...WAY before. He watched him whenever he could, handling anyone who got in his way (meaning the other Soldiers). After observing him long enough, and considering what he knew from watching before in other fights, he told him, ''Go low sometimes!''

Ash heard this and instantly had an idea which turned into a Reaction Command. After swinging and getting deflected, he quickly swung back at the Heartless low. After what he called a Low Blow afterwards, Ash had a few moments to combo it normally a couple times. He had to use another one, though, but this time, he was caught instead of deflected. He could do nothing if he were blocked, since he was busy recovering from the recoil of his Keyblade, but being caught gave him a quick idea. Utilizing his Aura Badge, Ash quickly sent a blast of aura down the Keyblade like electricity. "Leggo!!" he grunted as he did this. The Brawler complied and Ash could combo again. Like Maru before him, Ash also found them attackable once they missed, but RIGHT afterwards--only a split second existed as the gap in their defenses.

After everyone was defeated, Ash wiped his brow. It was more humid down there, a major difference from the dry environment outside. "Well, that was fun," he half-lied.

''Good use of your aura with that Brawler Heartless,'' commented Lucario. ''You could be able to try an Aura Sphere someday.''

"Aura Sphere..." Ash repeated. He looked at his Keyblade and remembered how he normally held it, two-handed. A smile came to his lips. "I think I've got an idea," he said. He held his Keyblade in both hands and closed his eyes. "Alright..." He focused. His aura grew and pulsed, then caught onto the energy he felt from the Keyblade, now that he thought about it. His aura crawled up the hilt before going down the barrel and to the bit. It materialized above the teeth, forming a small ball. Ash had to focus a bit after it grew larger than three quarters of a fist, finding it abruptly much more difficult to channel his aura.

''Ash, that's good for now,'' Lucario said quickly, putting a paw on his shoulder. ''Don't tax yourself much more right now. You're doing great for a beginner.''

Ash stopped and opened his eyes. He looked at the amount of aura swirling above the teeth and stared. "Wow, you're right," he muttered. "I didn't expect that much was out!"

''You've got a great amount of talent inside of you,'' Lucario commented, smiling a bit. ''Just don't try and use it TOO much. Aura is dangerous if you don't know how to properly use it. Remember, you would've died had I not pushed you out of the way at the Tree of Beginning.''

Ash nodded and tossed the Aura Sphere up with his Keyblade. "Alright!" He wound up and swung his weapon like a bat at the ball of energy. They collided and the Aura Sphere flew off before exploding in a wall. It left a sizable hole. "...I wonder if there's a word for 'oops' and 'wow' at the same time," Ash murmured, sweatdropping and standing with a finger to his mouth.

*****Learned Aura Sphere*****

Ash went onwards, fighting enemies they came up against. Ash grew a couple levels, Lucario noticed, by the time they got too tired to fight much longer. "Alright, um, let's...le-let's go and find one of those shops..." Ash said weakly.

"Agreed," Pikachu nodded. Lucario nodded without words.

They went up the nearest ramp, surprising the guard (to whom they breifly explained their reason for being down there), and then up to the third-floor corridors. They went around until finding a shop. Their stamina had returned by then. Using the munny he'd earned during the Heartless battles downstairs, Ash bought some KH potions and a couple Mega Potions. "Hey, you should put them somewhere on your person where you can grab them quickly," suggested the shopkeep. "You got any pockets?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, cargos," he answered.

"And your friend's got a side bag. Give some around so that they can help when needed, huh?" the shopkeep asked, smiling.

"I'll do that! Thanks for the tip!" Ash nodded.

When they left, he found that he could fit in three items into the wide, Naruto-ninja-toolbag-style single-buttoned pocket on the back of his jacket before he felt uncomfortable with the extra weight. Lucario could hold up to four, but poor Pikachu could hold none whatsoever. "I need to hold something for battles like this," he said, frowning. "Besides, I feel sorta defenseless out there, now. Lucario's got that bag, and you've got those clothes..."

Ash thought for a moment. "Hmmm..." He shook his head. "I can't think of anything we can do," he said, holding up his arms. "Sorry, Pikachu."

The little guy sighed. "If we could just find May or Dawn..." he muttered.

"Won't be much good by then, would it?" Ash chuckled. "Too bad we don't even have your old cheering uniform from the Contests, anymore, either. I think you could've gotten something in there."

Pikachu nodded. "Plus, I love wearing that outfit! It's cool and cute at the same time!" he chirped.

Lucario had no comment on that, or at least he didn't say it.

So, Ash stocked himself with two potions and a mega potion, giving the last three potions and one mega to Lucario. They were nearby the Pokémon Center, too, so they stopped in for a sec.

While he waited for his pokémon to return from the back, Ash sat on the couch, arms crossed and face frowning slightly as he pondered. 'I've got the Keyblade,' he thought, 'and these clothes. But Lucario and Pikachu have only their bodies and hides to protect themselves. I believe in their power, but...there are going to be life-and-death battles ahead, or at least ones we just CAN'T lose...' He sighed in slight aggrivation. 'Isn't there ANYTHING we can do? They can't use weapons--well, Lucario can, but I think he'd prefer not to--and I don't know where I can find someone I can trust to make clothing they'll like that can be armor. Even one piece would help them!' He tilted his head. 'Too much would slow them down, actually, since they probably aren't used to fighting in outfits very much...' He remembered the time he and Pikachu went on stage wearing caveman costumes and chuckled. This turned back into a frown as he refocused on the problem at hand. "Hmmmmm..."

"Ash, your pokémon are all well again!" Joy chimed as she came from the back, holding the tray of pokéballs and Pikachu while she walked between two other pokémon. Ash looked up as she came over and stopped, blinking at him a bit. "You look pretty deep in thought. What's wrong?" she asked.

Ash frowned as Pikachu and Lucario rejoined him. "I'm wondering if there's any way we can get something to help these guys in real fights without makin' 'em have to change the way they fight," he answered. He stood and went over to get his pokéballs.

Joy frowned, a little unsure. "...You mean like weapons and armor?" she asked. "What are you doing with them?"

''Ash is fighting on his own and me and Pikachu assist him like teammates,'' Lucario answered.

"It's when we go against Heartless," Pikachu explained.

Joy looked a little relieved. "Oh, good," she said, hand to her chest. She gave the tray to the chansey, who happily bobbled off. "I thought it was something more sinister...That's very commendable of you two," she complimented, smiling. "If that's the case, Ash," she went on, looking at him, "then you might want to invest in getting special 'weapons' that pokémon can wear and to enhance their normal attacks' power."

Ash started, eyebrows high. "You mean, there ARE weapons for pokémon?" he asked in disbelief.

Joy nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. She turned and went behind the counter and rooted around. "By law, they have to take them off before going back into their pokéballs, but pokémon can use these accessories, called Poké Arms, to help them out." She brought out two bags. Ash and the others came over to the counter to look at them as she opened them.

In one bag was a small, semi-elastic cloth band that appeared to be pokéball-themed. Half-red, half-white, it was divided across the middle by a black stripe that held a white, outlined circle on one point. A small lightning bolt was visible inside the "button" of the design. "This is a tailband, for small pokémon who have tails that wouldn't let it fly off in battle," Joy explained. "They sometimes come paired with easy-to-don goggles. Each tailband design does different things. This one's design is called simply a Pokéball Tailband, and it only enhances a pokémon's physical attack power. Again, this is for normally attacking, not using moves. Some Poké Arms DO enhance the power of moves, regardless of type or specifically of one or more types; to prevent cheating, all Poké Arms are banned from battles. Held items aren't, of course, but these are not counted as those."

The other bag held what looked to be a relatively thin gauntlet without the glove part. Instead of being made of thick, heavy iron, though, it was made with thin and light but strong metal. It wasn't simply a fitted tube of metal; instead, it was half of a tube. Attatched with a hinge and secured by a small, clasp-released locking mechanism was the other, inside half, making it look somewhat like an arm shackle. It had a rounded acute angle on the elbow end of the outside half. A centimeter-thick layer of soft padding lined the inside curve of both sides. The outside was grey metal, mostly, but dark blue stripes followed the edges and, surrounded by decorative brass lines, a blue, diamond-shaped, yet polished round gem was inset in the center. "This is a bracer," Joy described. "Specifically, it's a gemmed bracer. Bipedal pokémon, like many Fighting-types, can clap it onto their dominant arm and continue to fight as normal, paws or hands unhindered. The padding on the inside makes it comfortable to wear. Most bracers are used as armor pieces and come in sets of two and have enough on them that they can be used to defend against sharp attacks when both arms are brought up to guard. However, gemmed bracers are different. They can only be equipped one at a time to use their full potential, which resides inside the gem. Pokémon with a connection to the world around them can use the gem's power to enhance their attacks, thus making them work as Poké Arms. Being single-arm only, they can't really be used well to defend, though they naturally do add on a little protection."

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario looked at these in interest. "Wow...That's really cool," Ash said, looking up and smiling. "I've never heard of these before."

Joy smiled. "Well, they're from the region I come from, Astori," she explained. "With things going on as they've been recently, I think it'd be a good idea if people started to sell them in weapon shops..." She pushed them forwards, giving a close-eyed smile. "Here; I don't need these, but I think you might," she told them kindly as they looked back at her in surprise. "They're perfect for you! Pikachu, you can wear tailbands because of how your tail is shaped; just stretch them over it quickly to the base. Lucario, this gemmed bracer, this one being called Brass-n-Blue, is made specifically with your kind of arms in mind, and I know you can use the power of the gem inside." She looked at each pokémon in turn as she spoke.

Ash and the others smiled as the weapons were taken. Pikachu stood on the counter and looked at his in his paws while Lucario stood next to Ash, doing the same. They looked up and everyone bowed. ''"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy!"''

Nurse Joy giggled. "Not a problem! Anything to help pokémon!" she replied. She bowed. "Now, Ash, I hope you come back when your friends are hurt!" she bade. Ash smiled and said good-bye before turning and walking with the others away.

*****RECIEVED Poké Tailband (Poké Arm for Pikachu)*****

*****RECIEVED Brass-n-Blue (Poké Arm for Lucario)*****

After refreshing themselves from the save disc, which revitalized everyone (rendering the Center useless except for old times' sake), they delved back down again. The guard let them past without a problem now.

They didn't have far to go before their next fight. As soon as the Heartless came, Lucario's right paw shot to his bag to retrieve Brass-n-Blue. In an instant, it was out and being tossed up slightly. He caught it in his left paw and clapped it shut over his right forearm. It fit perfectly, and it gave a good amount of space for his wrist and paw, which could move around as easily as before.

Pikachu, meanwhile, had stored his tailband inside one of Ash's shoulder mesh bags (surprising Ash that they were actually used instead of being for decoration). He retrieved it as fast as his type and leaped off of Ash's shoulder. On the way down, he stretched it out and put his tail through the loop before letting go. It snapped back on the base of his tail seconds before he landed, and it stayed there.

For both of them, they found their attacks now produced hit bursts, like Ash's Keyblade. They were regular ones, however, with the only shapes (apart from impact ring-bursts, or whatever they're called) coming out being stars, which were different from Kingdom Key's.

After the fight, they went on, pokémon keeping on their Poké Arms for now. They commented how they liked them and how they helped. "I don't really need to think much about it," Pikachu described. "It doesn't bother me much that I'm wearing it, either. Though, I AM used to wearing clothes, which helps."

''I'm very satisfied with this gemmed bracer,'' Lucario smiled, looking at it. ''I seem to recall them from my time, or at least similar objects. Though sure they use new technology in some way, I'm quite comfortable with it.''

Finally, about halfway around the Arena, they had their eighth rumble. Ash made good use of Aura Sphere, which, after a few bouts, he'd been able to summon within a second. It still left him open from the charge, which Lucario suffered, as well. He also was able to hit it each time--something no young man acting like he's swinging a baseball bat should do normally. ''I suspect it's the aura and the Keyblade working together, like you're suggesting for the charge time,'' Lucario theorized sometime later.

The battle over, everyone took a second and a breather. "Man, this is hard," Ash slightly whined, leaning on his Keyblade like a cane as he removed his hat breifly to let his head breathe and to wipe his brow. "I've been in tons of fights now, but I'm still not used to it..."

Lucario looked around with aura vision on for a moment. ''It's all clear,'' he said. This was when he spotted a patch of bright aura where he didn't think anyone else was. He furrowed his brow and walked over. It appeared a man was there, hunched up and sitting. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was nothing but a cardboard box...

"Huh? What is it, Lucario?" Ash asked, looking around at him as he walked past to investigate.

After seeing what was in front of him, Lucario bent over and lifted the box straight up. Ash jumped at the sight revealed. "WOAH! I didn't think--!" he exclaimed.

A man in a body suit with a headband looked up in surprise before starting, an exclaimation point appearing above his head. ''And who are you?'' Lucario asked, throwing the box away before crossing his arms.

"After all those years..." he muttered before standing up. "Solid Snake. I'm a Brawler here," he introduced. "And you're Lucario, right?"

''I am,'' the pokémon confirmed, nodding. He held a paw, and they shook.

"And YOU'RE still a greenhorn, then," Snake added to Ash, turning and pointing.

Ash stepped back and pointed at himself. "Me? Whaddaya mean?!" he retorted, looking a bit defensive.

"You said it yourself--you're not used to fighting yet," Snake explained. He looked at his Keyblade and raised his eyebrows breifly. "Huh. If you're gonna be toting one of THOSE around, you'd better man up and get used to it, 'cuz that thing's a magnet for trouble--literally."

Ash opened his mouth to fight back, but he stopped. 'He's right; I've got to get used to fighting. I should be already...I've relied on my pokémon and my friends too much! I have to be able to fight on my own, too!' He nodded. "You're right."

Snake nodded, then turned. "Well, I'd better get going," he said. He held a hand up. "Later."

''What were you hiding in that box for?'' Lucario asked, stopping him with a look.

"Not really any of your business, now, is it?" he asked. "They're starting to hold sign-ups for the combat tournament. If you want to enter or get a good seat, now's the time." He walked off again, this time unhindered.

Ash looked at everyone else. They shrugged in unison. "Well, let's go, then," he said. "I think we've trained enough."

''Right.''

"Should be north this time," Pikachu said. "C'mon!"

They jogged off the other way. Further ahead, Snake swore and ducked into his box. "I hate Heartless," he grumbled.

_BEE-EE-EE! BEE-EE-EE!_

Snake touched his ear and activated his Codec.

"Snake," a deep, commanding voice addressed.

"Colonel."

"What's the status of your mission?"

"Slow. I'm finding pretty much nothing under here so far, and this is the second time I've checked."

"Keep going. We've yet to find a way into the inner regions of the arena, and something would've been said if it weren't somewhere private. What have you found so far?"

"Pretty much the same as last time. We still don't know how so many worldless people are ending up here instead of in the other designated worlds of Radiant Garden and Traverse Town. I also don't know why or how they're entering the tourneys yet. I'll observe them when the next ones go on. My best guess so far is that the Melee Arena people are doing it to try and get rid of them somehow. Not like it really works..."

"Alright, thanks. Keep up the good work."

"Right. Snake out."

_Zzzt-BEeeyuu!_

***-*-***

*Link is in his room in Melee Arena. He's waiting, sitting on the bed and leaning back, for something. Finally, he hears a knock on the door. He gets off the bed and opens it. It's Ike. He's resting something on his shoulder, but it's not his sword.*

Ike: So, ready to play?

Link: *nods*

*They go to Link's Wii and Link turns it on. He selects the game--Guitar Hero: Unlimited. (This game is only availible to Brawlers and includes infinite space to hold every existing Guitar Hero song and more.) He goes into co-op, playing lefty guitar, while Ike syncs his Wiimote. When they're ready, they begin on System of a Down's take on "The Legend of Zelda".*

*Midway through, Ike notices something odd about the look of Link's side of the screen as he (Ike) plays Hard bass.*

Ike: Huh? Wait, your game's glitched! How can you have one blue and four...*looks at Link's guitar controller*...yellows...

Link: *keeps playing Expert. His guitar controller has, instead of green, red, yellow, blue, and orange buttons, giant, fret button-shaped A, Down-C, Right-C, Left-C, and Up-C buttons.*

Ike: *smacks forehead after starting a long note* He's even got them from lowest to highest in the correct places and order...

***-*-***

Yeah, that one sucked. I re-beat MM recently, hence the Zelda stuff. Sorry that this is such a long-ass bit this has become! It ends next one and we're semi-out of the starting-with-your-hand-held part of Ash's journey. The story ought to pick up after that, if only because then I'll have most of a plot in my head. (Then, isn't this more about Ash, really? I dunno...)

The Poké Arms I made up as I was going through and re-reading this bit before putting it up online. (I've caught a few errors and changed a few things as a result, making it suck less than it does now.) I've wanted to give Lucario and Pikachu some weapons of some sort, since they're Ash's main partners in this "game", like how Sora's got Donald and Goofy and Maru's got Figment and Elliott. However, since they're pokémon and are much more used to fighting without actual weapons, I needed something a bit different. After thinking for twenty minutes (most of it on Pikachu's, I think), I decided on their weapons. I also added something to remember for an idea I have that I'm certain will never see the light of real day apart from fanfics and fanart and stuff. (The best I can hope for is an ultra-kick-ass fangame.)

Sure, they're basically magical weapons, sorta, but here's my alibi to defend their being used in the Pokémon world: A) I explained the gemmed bracers well enough; B) Tailbands work by giving off a short-range energy field that naturally boosts a pokémon's power; and C) The hit bursts only happen against Heartless, Nobodies, and other non-pokémon enemies.

Like Figment and Elliott in the other fic, expect them to recieve better Poké Arms in the future.

Oh, and I realized that fighting + messenger bag do not equal very practical, so I had Luc modify his bag.


	13. 03: NEVER Piss a Band Geek Charizard Off

Ash reached the front of the relatively short line. "I'd like to sign up for this," he said, smiling at the receptionist kindly.

"Okay! Are you alone or in a team?" she asked, pen ready. Ash replied that he was on a team. "How many?"

Ash opened his mouth, then closed it, a thought occurring. "Hang on," he said. He turned to his teammates. "Think I should enter in some pokémon?" he asked. "Apart from you guys, I mean. I'd feel comfortable having some on hand..."

''This is supposed to be a fighting tournament, not another battle tournament,'' reminded Lucario. ''However, you DO work quite well with your pokémon under your command...You can't just ignore them...but...''

Pikachu frowned in thought and concern. "You need to keep a balance," he ruled. "Don't rely on your pokémon at your command, but don't forget to bring them out and train them in battle if you need a break." He thought a bit more before snapping his fingers, then pointing them and looking at Ash with a satisfied smile (paired with lowered eyebrows). "Just so you don't get tempted to use them all the time, bring only ONE pokémon to use here. The only time we're allowed to heal is in battle, using items." He lowered his paw again. "This way, we're both at a healthy, manageable, challenging three to four fighters, and you'll want to sort of ration your pokémon, using him sparingly and trusting in your own power."

''I think that is a great idea. You can do it, Ash,'' Lucario told him. ''Remember how you fought against the Switch Armor?''

'Hey, I still gotta write an entry for that thing!' Ash couldn't help but think. He nodded, regardless, hand to chin. "Yeah, I do," he answered. "But then I feel like I'm relying on Reaction Commands too much..."

''You have to gain more skills that you can rely upon instead before you can say you rely on them too much, in my opinion. They may be the only reason you have survived so far, and in some cases ARE the only reason.'' Lucario crossed his arms. ''If you can get by without them, of course, then by all means, use those less often, as well.''

Ash nodded. "Right. I'll only take one pokémon with me," he said. "I'll also TRY and refrain from using Reaction Commands excessively."

"Great!" Pikachu smiled. "Then let's do it!"

Ash turned to the receptionist. "Alright, I'm going in a team of four: Me--Ash Ketchum--Pikachu, Lucario, and, though he's not gonna be out all the time, my pokémon, um..." He thought for a second before deciding. 'I can't bring the others with me, so I think the best choice I've got is...' "...Exexitt!"

"...Oooookay!" the receptionist chimed as she finished writing it all down. "And the name of your team?"

"Uhm..." Ash faltered. "A name? Shoot...erm..." 'I'd say 'The Twerps' just for fun, but Lucario and Exexitt probably wouldn't get it and they'd feel offended...' For a moment, he realized that he missed them, too, despite them being antagonists to him for his entire Training career.

''How about just 'Ash and Co.'?'' tried Lucario, tilting his head.

Ash shrugged. "That'll work," he said. "Ash and Co."

"...Mmmmkay, you're good!" the girl said, smiling. "Be in the locker rooms in ten minutes for the first match. You won't be able to heal between rounds, and you must stay on the benches around the perimeter of the arena area between rounds."

Ash nodded. "Got it," he said. He turned and beckoned to the others before leaving. "I think I'm going to let the others out, now," he told Lucario and Pikachu. "They might get hurt out there in their balls. I actually should've let them out before when we were training ourselves."

''Where will you put them?'' Lucario asked.

"I think I have an idea," Ash answered.

A few minutes later, they were talking to Prof. Oak and Tracy. "Sure, we'll keep them for you while you're fighting," said Prof. Oak, smiling. "We'll be sure to find a seat, too, for the battles!"

"Let them out, then get out, or you'll be late!" Tracy told him.

"Right!" Ash maximized the three balls before throwing them. "Okay, guys! Stay with Oak while we're gone, alright?"

They appeared, the three ball-burst sounds bouncing off the walls of the room. Charizard made things a bit tight, with everyone except Exexitt out and in Oak's room. Charizard looked impressedly at him. "You're seriously going to do this? I mean, we heard from within our balls, but...really?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep," he answered. "If we win this, I'm going to use the munny towards finding the rest of our friends!"

Tracy raised his eyebrows and smiled. "That's a GREAT idea! Good luck, Ash!"

"Yes, good luck!" Oak agreed, smiling and holding up a hand.

The other pokémon bade them good luck, and Ash was off, companions close behind.

They barely made it, them and one of the other participants. "Ash! You ARE doing this!" Charlie smiled behind him when he looked to see who was coming up in the rear. He was running down the hall to the arena pit where the sign up was, each step causing at least two small cracks in the stone below. He was even heavier than he looked.

Ash nodded. "Yep, and I can't wait to meet in battle with you!" he said. "Fighting's more interesting when you know who you're fighting with personally, be it for good or bad."

"True, true," Charlie nodded, looking forwards again. He sweatdropped at the size of the doorway. "Uh...fall behind me. If I get stuck, Hi Jump Kick me in, wouldja?" he asked, sweatdropping.

The others sweatdropped, but they agreed.

Thankfully, they didn't have to do it. Charlie had enough momentum and his middle was soft enough to squeeze through in one go. He skidded to a halt at the sight before him, though, making Ash and the others collide with him, anyway. "Augh, hey, what's the idea?" Ash asked, a little peeved.

"THEM," Charlie pointed. Ash looked and gaped when he saw nothing but enemies in the room. Heartless as far as the eye could see grouped together in the same locker room...Heartless and, in a corner, Bowser. Actually, after he looked a little more, Ash saw some non-Heartless people. Charlie rubbed his chin. "We're probably being informed about the rules, but I don't see anyone talking..."

Cautiously, they made their way to the chalkboard at one side of the room. It had a tourney tree.

"Don't even bother, it's just a bunch of lines," Bowser said from his spot in the corner. They ignored him at first, thinking he was just being as stupid as always. However, they soon found he wasn't kidding. Bowser glared. "What, y'think I'm an idiot? ANYONE can understand tournament trees! They ain't that complicated!"

"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE WHO STILL POSSESSES LIGHT WITHIN HIS OR HER OR EVEN ITS HEART, GET OUT HERE!" roared a deep, commanding voice.

Ash and the others to whom this applied turned to see a large man in a lengthened, red-lined black gakuran, white gloves, and geta sandals crossing his arms in the entrance. His long, black hair was messy and under a thick-billed hat that had seen MUCH better days. His face was scarred. Overall, he looked very tough for a cheer squad member. "Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Woah. That guy's givin' me the creeps," Bowser muttered, frowning uncertainly.

''And I can see why! Go, go, go!'' Lucario growled hurriedly, using aura vision and pushing Ash.

Once outside, Ash asked, "Why?"

''He's one of those people whose aura is naturally more like fire,'' he answered. ''If two of them cross, it's basically what happens when an unmovable object meets an unstoppable force.''

"Oh." Ash sweatdropped at the man in the weathered cheering uniform as he stood in the same spot, waiting for Bowser to lumber defiantly out. Once they were out, the man turned.

"I am Doumeki Kai, leader of the Ouendan," he introduced, voice still loud even though he wasn't shouting. "I am the one responsible for keeping tournament fighters in line. I welcome you to the Shell Cup. Let me explain something about the way the tournament works here. You each have to face some normal people, like you, and hopefully we will have a final between those like you. You also must each face a number of teams of Heartless. There will be ten rounds to be taken by each of you, and there is a complicated process involved with deciding when you must fight normal people--it's called 'us announcing who goes next'. You will only have the items on you to help you in battle; there will be no healing, as some of you may have had the luxury of during the pokémon tournament. If you lose to any Heartless, the battle will end instantly and the Heartless shall be restrained from causing further damage that would cause you to lose your heart. Are there any questions?"

A pause, then someone slowly began raising his hand.

"Good!" Doumeki turned around and did a few cheering moves to the booth above the big scoreboard.

"ALRIGHT! Ladies and gentlemen, the Shell Cup battle tournament shall commence! Will Donny come to the ring?"

A guy broke ranks from the group and walked to the battlefield. It had been made into a square ring, stone tiles on the floor and round pillars at the corners. Once one entered the perimeter, a wall of invisible energy came up and fenced you in, like a cage match without the grabable cage. The walls appeared quite hard, too, since, as the fight wore on, the fighters hit them without any apparent give. (Strangely, when one landed against it with their feet, it indented slightly. ''It must only work when pressure is focused,'' Lucario guessed.)

"Oooooh, that had to hurt," the announcer, Agent Lock, Ash recognized, commented as Donny was slammed to the wall on his back. A ripple of light went across the point of impact.

"Grrrmmmmmm..." Charlie growled thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with a paw while he observed the round.

Ash and the others sat on a bench, waiting their turn. They were called up next.

"Next is Ash and Co.! Let's see the blurb," Lock announced, and a second of papers rustling was heard. "'A Trainer and his pokémon friends, specifically the Brawlers, Pikachu and Lucario, and the Trainer's own pokémon, Exexitt, Ash Ketchum hails from...Pallet...'" He stopped and laughed. "Everyone pretty much knows about him from the battles!! Knock 'em dead, Ash!"

Ash blushed and chuckled sheepishly at the loudspeaker cheer. "Alright, let's get going," he said to his companions after that, hopping down. The crowd cheered as he and the others went in.

"GO ASH!!" cried a voice, and Ash turned to see Tracy sitting on a bleacher near to the arena. Beside him were Oak and Ash's pokémon. Charizard nodded at him, Bulbasaur waved a vine, and Squirtle got some extra height with his tail breifly while he waved his arms and legs.

Ash smiled, then began to trot into the ring. A thought struck him suddenly. He skidded in the sand and dust and turned, taking off his pack. "Hey!" He ran back, calling. He stopped when he was nearby and asked, "Hold this, wouldja, too?" before he threw it up to them. Charizard reached his neck out and bit a strap as it came a bit short.

"We'll keep an eye on it!" Tracy promised.

"Thanks!" Ash proceeded into the ring. He got out his Keyblade as he saw the small troupe of Shadows and Soldiers ahead of him. Beside him and jumping onto him briefly were his teammates as they drew their weapons, as well. As the walls went up around him, he couldn't help but gulp--there was no escape. He tightened his grip around the Keyblade. 'We can't lose...I can't chicken out!' He looked up and, fiercely determined face on, shouted, "We can DO this!"

They won, of course, and without even needing to use any items or bring out Exexitt. The Trainer found it MUCH easier to fight without his pack, as well as more comfortable. Sure, his back was open, but at least he didn't have to lug around that much more extra weight. After that first match, Ash chuckled and spun his Keyblade around him, passing it behind his back once before holding it point-down and thrusting it a few inches into the ground, where it stuck while he put a hand on his hip. "Alright! Looks like we won!" He looked around. "...Now, who's next?" he asked. His companions did victory dances, as well, and he did a few different ones sometimes.

The next few rounds went on without incident. Bowser dominated the Heartless, burning them and crushing them. The same went for Charlie, who likewise used his Fire-type attacks and his weight. The difference was what was on their backs: Bowser had spikes, Charlie had wings, and both used them well. Ash and Co. went on relatively unhindered through six more rounds of Heartless, the groups growing more and more powerful as they went, and one round against a pair of people Lock revealed to be hylians with weapons. They were Royal Guards, and braver ones than usual. Ash was surprised that his wounds healed instantly on the surface after being sliced by a spearhead, reducing to mere scratches. He still recieved full damage. 'It must be the clothes,' he thought, also noticing that they mended themselves after a slash.

It came to be that Charlie and Bowser went against each other. "And it looks like it's a battle of the draconish," Agent Lock commented before the match began. "The winner of this match will be going, undoubtedly, to the final match if they can clear the Heartless round after this, so let's see who wins! Charlie, GET IT ON!!"

Charlie, on the field, laughed for more than a couple seconds.

"...Whaddaya MEAN, I can't root on my own friends?!" came the quieter voice of Lock (he had turned from his mic to speak to someone else).

Ash sat in the benches nearest to the place his friends above were. "Well, looks like the walking fire hazard's going against one of your kind, huh, Charizard?" he heard Squirtle ask.

"...Well, you could say that," Charizard said, head tilting in a way Ash took to mean he shrugged. (His head was all he could see from his spot.)

"What do you mean? I know he's a shiny, but...what else?" Bulbasaur asked.

Charizard thought for a moment. "Have YOU ever seen a charizard play trumpet?" he decided to ask.

A moment of silence, then all four of the people beside him (it went, left to right when facing them, Squirtle, Oak, Charizard, Tracy, and Bulbasaur) replied, "No, daresay I haven't," almost in unison.

Charizard nodded, smirking. "There ya go."

The walls went up and the match began. The girthy reptilians circled each other. "Awright, Band Geek, time for you to play 'Taps', 'cuz this'll be your funeral!" Bowser trash-talked. Some in the crowd went, "Ooooooh!" at this.

"Wow! I'm impressed the brain of someone who does nothing but eat, sleep, order minions around, beat people up, and fail at trying to take over the world numerous times could come up with something that clever!" retorted Charlie. More in the crowd went, "OooOOOOOooh!" at this.

Bowser anger-veined. "Why, you little--!!" he growled before lunging with a claw swipe.

"Awww, thanks for saying I'm little!" smiled Charlie as he jumped the attack. He landed on Bowser's head and springboarded up off of him to the other side.

The koopa stumbled a second. "Ooof-ungh...rrrRRRR, SHADDUP!!" he shouted, turning and blowing fire.

Charlie rolled to dodge it, almost literally rolling. "Yeep! Watch the jacket!" he squeaked.

Bowser jumped and tried to use his Bowser Bomb on him. He missed, leaving himself open to a Slam in the chest, knocking him over onto his back for a second. "Here, lemme help," Charlie said, and he Stomped on his leg, which both hurt the koopa and flipped him upright.

"Thanks," Bowser replied before successfully slashing at his front.

They traded blows, misses, and insults for another half a minute. "This is pretty good," Ash commented. "THEY'RE pretty good."

''You remember you'll have to fight one of them personally, right?'' asked Lucario, giving a sidelong glance at Ash.

Ash started, making a "yeek" face for a second as he blue-cheeked. "Oh, yeah..."

The two met in a grapple lock. This appeared, however, to be Bowser's plan the whole time. He'd been able to bait Charlie into it, and was now proving why--he was stronger, much stronger, than the charizard. As soon as the lock occurred, he squeezed tight with his paws and smirked. He waited until Charlie's face registered, "Oh, shit," before he mercilessly threw him down sideways, stepped on his gut (covering his footpaw in it as he pushed the remaining air in his lungs out), and let rip a blast of fire. He breathed for three seconds, then stopped and got off, pushing away with the footpaw on his opponent. He crossed his arms and laughed evilly, sure he was victorious.

Ash and the others rooting for Charlie gasped and leaned forwards a bit, looking closer at the result of the beatdown. Charlie's jacket was on fire and making a lot of smoke, the smell of burning polyester in the air. As soon as he could, he began rolling around, trying to put it out. The smoke rose in a cloud above him.

"UH-oh," Charizard went.

"Ooh-ooh," Lock mumbled. "Bowser just sealed his fate. Know why, folks?"

In unison, they answered, "He hurt the jacket. You NEVER hurt the jacket." Charizard looked both dreading and like he knew something he liked (which, given his personality, could be anything, be it comedic or violent) was coming. "If Bowser lets himself get caught by Charlie, now, he's gonna regret it..."

"How come?" asked Ash, curious to know as he craned his head up.

"Well, let's just say you're about to see why I told you to keep your pokémon away from him," Charizard replied, smiling nervously and sweatdropping down at Ash.

Charlie's jacket was out. Bowser saw this and stopped laughing. "Awwww, did I just ruin your dorky outfit?" he asked, mock baby voice.

Charlie stood up and turned, facing him. His face was concealed by the smoke. His jacket was now as black as hish scales. The buttons and zipper were all that gave it any color anymore. A white linen ruffle that was on the front was completely gone. It was an odd sight, indeed; the nearly-monochromatic scene against the brownish-tan of Melee Arena. "Like Lock said, you just sealed your fate," he said darkly.

"What, you gonna get angry and think you can win?" Bowser asked, raising an eyebrow unimpressedly and frowning. "I'm, like, the only guy here who can actually DO that. See my Final Smash, ever?"

"Oh, believe me, you didn't make me angry," Charlie said in a calm voice. "All you did was hold me down and blast me with fire, burning one of my most precious posessions. You burned a jacket given to me, a jacket altered to fit me with my great . wings behind me and thick neck atop me and damn blob in front of me." He spread his wings. "You burned that which I wear in pride of my band and in pride of who I am!!" With a mighty beat, he used Defog, clearing the smoke from the field. When his head was visible, people gasped.

His face was screwed up in a look that could murder. "YOU JUST MADE ME FUCKING _FURIOUS!!_" he roared, shaking the field.

Bowser blinked, eyes wide, before he acted unimpressed. (Though unseen by the people looking at him, his sweatdrop told otherwise.) "S-So? Y'gonna cry?" he asked.

"No," Charlie growled, "I'm gonna do what I do best." He dashed forwards with his wings to help, showing unseen speed. Adrenaline propelled the large creature headlong into Bowser, who didn't have time to do more than uncross his arms. Charlie tackled him and they rolled three quarters of a circle, Charlie slamming his tail down to stop them with Bowser crushing Charlie.

"What good's THIS gonna do? Just wanted to squash yourself?" Bowser taunted. He glanced under him. "...Hey, you're actually pretty comfy," he muttered, blushing a little.

Charlie grabbed his face, ripped it to him, and wrenched open his mouth, taking in a deep breath at the same time. Bowser, to his shock, couldn't tear away, even with his strong arms. Charlie had a death grip on his jaws.

Charizard sniggered. "Oh, God, here he goes..."

"You think you're a big jerk, huh?!" Charlie asked before breathing the lost air quickly and then blowing it out in a powerful Flamethrower--straight into Bowser's throat.

"YOWCH! Now THAT'S a spicy meatball!" Lock said, chuckling. "But what's he--wait a...is he--?!"

People around the arena were first making their normal roar, but then it quieted. It became a wave of gasps, then a few sounds of disgust mixed in with people falling silent. Then the silence revealed itself to be people snickering, keeping in full laughter that soon erupted all over.

"Oh, my goodness, folks! If you thought Bowser was a big jerk before, think again!!" Lock said energetically after a surprised laugh.

Ash was stunned, then laughing, too. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!!" he cried. "What is this, a cartoon?!"

Bowser was making sounds of utter distress, scared at what was happening. Charlie's face was stone hard as he executed circular breathing, keeping the stream of fire constant as he scorched the big guy's throat.

"It may look funny, but that's painful as fuck, trust me on this one," Charizard was barely heard commenting between laughs. "And not just the fire, either!"

Oak was laughing, too, but not as much. "This is funny, yet a little disturbing," he commented, unheard by Ash.

Lucario was raising an eyebrow, obviously more than a little disturbed. ''Ash? Don't hurt his jacket when we fight him. For the love of all that lives, don't hurt his jacket,'' he asked weakly without looking at Ash. He shuddered.

"Smack me for saying this, but that actually looks kinda fun," Pikachu said, staring at him. "I mean, afterwards, you could play with them!!"

"GEH! Looks like you and he're on the same wavelength, Pikachu!" Charizard shouted down, winking. To Lucario, he assured, "He only does it on Fire-types, blue boy!"

''That still doesn't make this any less strange,'' Lucario said back.

"What? Strange? You act like you've never seen someone blowing a balloon before!!"

''...They didn't exist in my time...''

Yes--Charlie was turning Bowser into a balloon, and Bowser didn't like it. He tried fighting fire with fire, but it didn't work--he ran out of breath, and inhaling too much put fire in his lungs, which hurt. That wasn't what was inflating him, though--it was hot air.

Out in the stands, someone made a slightly queasy face. "I's nevah gonna look at da balloon da same way again..."

Charlie kept at this for half a minute, making him bigger and bigger. He actually furrowed his brow in concern partway through--his eyes checked his victim's stomach periodically. Finally, though, Bowser began floating up just slightly. Five more seconds and he was almost perpendicular to the ground. As soon as this happened, Charlie let one last blast out and shut the koopa's trap. He stood up, still holding his mouth, and, smirking with leering eyes, wondered aloud, "Did I ever tell you I'm the best damn trumpet player in Sinnoh under the age of twenty?"

With that, he let go of Bowser's mouth, took flight, and scooted around to his distended stomach. "SERVE!" he called before giving a straight Mega Punch to Bowser. The laughter died away quickly.

Bowser yelled in pain as he rocketed off to the wall. The yell broke a moment as he bounced off, going straight back. He was met with another Mega Punch. Then a Mega Kick. Then a Slam. Then more Mega Punches, each hit making him bounce faster and faster with each painful hit. The crowd began roaring and cheering at this.

_"OVERSIZED SPEEDBAG!!"_ cried Charlie as he began actually rapid-fire Mach Punching.

"Oh-HOH! THAT'S his game!" Lock announced. "Strange but VERY effective! That shell may be protecting Bowser from the wall hurting him, but that charizard can really pack a whallop! (Keep it up!)"

Ash was staring. "That...looks really painful..." he murmured.

''...He does the impossibly strange and uses it to eliminate the enemy,'' described Lucario, doing the same.

"I'm afraid to think how he practiced it," Pikachu sweatdropped.

"Ah, Oversized Speedbag, his ultimate attack," Charizard said, crossing his arms and leaning back. "THAT'S why you want to be careful with your pokémon near him. He inflates you if your body can handle high temperatures, and then he beats you back and forth against a wall, going faster and faster until you're kinda like a speedbag in a gym. It'll end, don't worry."

Finally, Charlie did a whip-around bicycle kick, sending Bowser skyward as he himself fell. As he did, he readied a great Stomp. When he slammed down, making cracks behind him, he crashed his footpaw down so hard, he sent up a spray of rocks. "This won't hurt as much as it should, you lucky dog!" he informed Bowser with a grin. "But here's Rock Slide to finish out!"

The rocks soared up and pelted the underside (and sometimes face) of Bowser, who was slowly coming down. Each time he was hit, he grunted in pain. Sometimes, he was winded by a large rock. When this happened, he let out a small burp. When the assault ended and Charlie stayed panting on the ground, Bowser noticed this relationship.

And he smirked, black eye and bruised cheek.

Coming down faster with less air, he waited for the right time. Then, taking a great breath, he let it out. The burp grossed more people out, but made some laugh harder than before (leaving them holding their sides). One who DIDN'T laugh was Charlie, who was the one to have not the time to evade, this time.

"GRAAAAUUUUGH!" he roared, sailing to the wall backwards as a tail and the rim of a shell of spikes pushed him along. He struck it with a heavy thud and a eye-bulging strangled gasp. The spikes drove into his tough flesh somewhat, almost burying themselves into his ample belly. Bowser's erupting mouth propelled him backwards and held Charlie to the wall. He took the chance to kick him a few times.

"Oh, no!" Lock wailed. "Bowser's taken advantage of Charlie's genius plan!!"

When he was all out, finally, Bowser hid in his shell and flip-spun, throwing his prey off and landing safely. Charlie was tossed and sent skidding to a halt to the other wall.

Bowser came out and got up, leaning on a knee and smiling, breathing hard. "Heh...you really think...that stupid trick...would do me in?" he asked. "What'd'ja think...this was?...Dig-Dug?"

Charlie gasped and got up even slower, holding his front. His stomach was bleeding a bit, as well. He clenched an eye from pain. "You...son of a..." he croaked.

Charizard bit his lip, holding his breath with the others. "Oh, God, Charlie, stop," he whispered.

Bowser grinned, then stood fully. "Now for a little trick I learned from an annoying little rat," he said. Without further ado, he turned and spun sideways, like a cartwheel. However, he jumped and pulled himself into his shell. He landed and began revving up in place. Rock flew out from under him and sparks flew when his spikes scraped the ground. Some people made more reactions.

Charlie raised his eyebrows and gritted his teeth. "Whirling Fortress...on his side?!" he muttered.

"WHAT ON--?! Of all people, is the slowest Brawler trying to--AND THERE HE GOES!" Lock went.

Bowser shot off like a bullet towards Charlie. Charlie, however, wasn't finished. He sidestepped just in time, going on the left since Bowser, who had rolled so that, looking at his front, he went clockwise and exposed himself on that end. Charlie grunted and guarded against the koopa's bounceback, which wasn't as bad, but still hurt. He then looked and took his chance as Bowser went back from him. As the turtle began to fall back down to his front, like a giant coin, Charlie lunged and grabbed his tail.

"HUH?!" Bowser popped out of his shell in surprise and looked back, feeling himself being dragged towards the middle of the ring. When he saw what was going on, his eyes bugged out before he roared, "OH, YOU MUST BE JOKING!!" and flailed around.

To no avail. With as much determination as Ash, and perhaps more, Charlie hauled Bowser back far enough before he began turning. "I refuse..." he seethed, going slowly around but picking up momentum. "...to lose..."

"NOOO!! NOT AGAAAIIIINN!!" Bowser screeched, starting to fly off the ground and feel the blood rush to his arms and head.

"...to the likes..." He was spinning full force, now.

"And Charlie's givin' it his all as he pulls off the most classic move in the book!" Lock announced, smiling.

"...of YOU!" He let fly at the best moment he found, right to the farthest wall. Bowser roared as he flew through the air, face first, and SLAMMED into the energy field even harder than before.

He slid down to his front. After that, he was still. Then he rose. Turned, wobbling legs, and looking at Charlie with shaking vision. He let a gutteral, incoherent sound.

And he spiral-eyed, fell forwards, and slammed down once more.

Charlie fell to his slightly-large seat, breathing an immense sigh of relief.

"AND THIS ROUND'S WINNER IS CHARLIE, AFTER ONE AMAZING CLASH OF THE TITANS!!" Lock cried. "(YESSSSS!!)"

The crowd roared, and Charizard let out a sigh of relief even greater than Charlie's. "I thought he was a goner!"

"That was AWESOME!!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist out. Pikachu clapped happily beside him. "I don't care that I have to fight him now, that was amazing!"

''Strange, but impressive, nonetheless,'' admitted Lucario, shaking his head.

Charlie panted and limped towards Ash and Co., smiling a little. "Sorry if you wanted a bit of revenge," he apologized as he got near them. "Just a bit more determined than that."

Ash nodded, giving an eyebrows-slightly-lowered smile. "No problem," he said. "I'm sure I'll get to fight him again someday."

"Heh..." Charlie flopped down on the end of the bench next to Ash, making the Trainer and his pokémon yelp as they were rocked up and nearly launched off the seat. He was still bleeding, Ash noticed after scrambling to get a hold of the tilting bench before he slid, Pikachu grabbing hold of a loop on Ash's jacket arm. (Lucario was on another bench and blinking in disbelief at the outlandish display.) Charlie grimaced and held his front. "Ow..."

"Charlie, you dumbass! Why didn't you think of that before using Oversized Speedbag against him?!" scolded Charizard, smiling regardless.

"Would you have?" Charlie asked, looking up and smiling wryly at his friend.

Ash frowned in worry at Charlie. "Those look bad..." He looked with his eyes left, then right, then down as he chewed his lip. Pikachu, meanwhile, crawled up to his shoulder once more. Ash nodded. Letting himself slide down and bounce against Charlie, he reached into the item pocket/bag on his jacket to pull out a pair of potions he'd picked up from some Heartless (in this beginning cup only, the Heartless were able to drop items, as well).

Lucario's ears went straight to attention when he noticed this. ''Ash! What are you doing?!'' he asked, getting up and running over.

"Helping a hurt pokémon," Ash replied, offering the bottles to Charlie.

Charlie widened his eyes at this. "But...you have to fight me next," he said, confused.

"Yeah? You're about to die from loss of blood," Ash said facetiously, smiling a little. He pushed the items a little further to him. "C'mon, it doesn't say in the rules that you can't help heal other people, does it?"

"Well...no..." Charlie looked a little reluctant, but feeling his body in pain made him cringe, then nod. "Thank you very much," he said graciously, accepting the items. "Now, go--you're up."

Ash nodded, smiling in relief. "Thanks. See you in the ring soon!" He hopped off and ran away to the battlefield, where they had finished dragging Bowser off.

Lucario smiled at Ash as they ran into the ring. ''That was very good of you, Ash,'' he said. ''I'm proud.''

Ash raised an eyebrow. "What? You expected me to not only leave a pokémon--anyone--like that, but fight them like that?!" he asked. He smirked and chuckled, "What do you think I am, one of them?" He nodded to the Heartless that had appeared before them.

Lucario chuckled and shook his head. ''I was testing you,'' he confessed, slapping on his gemmed bracer. ''Your kind heart--it is a quality that Sir Aaron possessed, that all good wielders of aura possess.'' He looked forward and got into battle stance. ''Guard it well.''

Ash nodded, tapping into his aura and getting into stance as well. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and onto the ground beside him, snapping on his tailband as Ash summoned the Keyblade. "I will," Ash promised.

**-'-,-'-**

"AAAAALRIGHT, everyone! It's the moment you've been waiting for!" Lock called from the booth. "It's the final match of the Shell Cup! Who'll it be? Is it the Brawler team of Ash and Co.?" (Crowd roar pause.) "Or will it be the astoundingly powerful and determined charizard, Charlie Pacific?" (Crowd roar pause.) "THEY'LL DECIDE!! (I wish they could decide for me who to root for!) Place your bets now, you idiots out there, 'cuz the final match begins in THREE! TWO!! ONE!!! FIGHT!"

During this, Ash stood and smirked at Charlie. "Alright, big guy, it's come to this," he said.

"We're not gonna hold back," Pikachu warned from the ground.

''I DO feel a little bad that this is three-on-one, though,'' Lucario admitted, frowning.

Charlie, fully healed from the potions, thumbed his muzzle. Well, he clawed it, but made the thumbing motion. "What, you think I'd do this without thinking I could handle it?" he asked. He got into stance, legs spread and arms to his sides. "Don't think this'll be easy!" he warned.

"I'm not!" Ash assured, getting ready with everyone else.

That's when the command was given to fight, and with that, Ash and company sprang forth. Charlie surprised them by jumping up and over them, then swinging his big tail at them, knocking them away from behind. Ash used something he'd picked up from previous battles; he pulsed his aura to right himself after being knocked away, using the old KH standby, Aerial Recovery.

After locking his eyes onto Charlie, Ash fought as hard as he could, hoping for the chance to use Aura Sphere. After locking on, another ability that had awakened with the Aura Badge, Scan, made him see how much vitality Charlie had. Though it wasn't full, it was close--90%, about. (He'd healed to 95% health with the potions and had lost 5% in his semifinal.) He was guarding it well, too. Fighting with ferocity and surprising dexterity given his corpulence, Charlie was fending off and dealing out attacks without leaving much chance for an opening, as far as Ash could see. He also kept the pressure on, prohibiting Ash from using Aura Sphere.

The main problem was that Ash wasn't feeling any Reaction Commands, which he had, admittedly, come to rely on, despite trying to go without them if he could handle things as they were through the tournament. He regretted his foolishness when he was half-health and almost minus Steel-type Lucario. "This doesn't look good," Ash muttered. 'I HAVE to get that money! I don't know if he'll give it to me if I lose...and I don't wanna lose after all I've been through. Then, well, he doesn't, either...' He charged forth after seeing Charlie advance towards Lucario. "Lucario, no!" Ash raised his Keyblade to strike, but was stopped by a wing, springing out and pushing him back. "Un!"

Lucario ducked the Flamethrower and gave a full Force Palm, Brawl style. Charlie flew back a bit, but he didn't fly far. He winged once before stopping. He landed, dashed, and grabbed Lucario, who failed to escape. Then, he jumped, flew a loop, and Body Slammed him to the ground. Lucario survived, but he sometimes had bouts where he couldn't move. ''P-paralysis...'' he grunted.

Ash came in before Charlie could finish him there. However, even after a combo, Charlie was able to fly away and send a knock-out Flamethrower to Lucario. Lucario fainted, out for the count for a bit.

"LUCARIO!" Ash cried, reaching out.

"CHUUU!!" Pikachu sent another Thunderbolt at him, but Charlie evaded it. "Dang, he's faster than he looks," Pikachu grumbled.

"And smart, too, since enough from you, and he's sunk," Ash added. He found the chance he needed and focused. "Alright, batter up!" He swatted an Aura Sphere at Charlie.

Charlie tried to dodge, but the Aura Sphere just hooked right back at him. "GRAUGH! Sneaky--!" he grunted, falling to the ground. He was open a second to attack, and Ash and Pikachu came in and meleed him. Pikachu did so with scratches, bites, minor electric attacks and tail swings (as well as a few other moves he did in Brawls).

Charlie had enough after a combo and a half. He growled and sprang up, striking out with tail, arms, and wings. Ash and Pikachu flew back, and Ash knew...they weren't gonna last much longer, him especially. "I gotta use my mega--" Ash began, looking through his items pocket. He stopped as he remembered: He used it in the last round! "And I gave HIM the rest of my potions!" He knew that Exexitt wouldn't last long against a pokémon with two strong types against him. "We're DEAD! If only I had some more power..." Ash dispaired.

Suddenly, he remembered something. 'Using the power of my friends...' He looked at the Drive Badge in his vest. He looked at Pikachu, landing from an annoying Wing Attack. And he nodded. He focused his aura on the badge, finding, to his surprise, intense energy powering from it. 'I can...I can feel it!' He narrowed his gaze as Charlie came at them. "Pikachu!!" he addressed seriously.

Pikachu looked at him. "Pikah?" he answered, like, "Huh?"

"I need to borrow your strength, buddy!" Ash said. He smirked and crossed his arms, bunching up. "C'mooooon..." His badge flashed brilliantly right as Charlie came at him. Right before the shiny charizard was upon him, Ash spread his limbs out wide. "DRIVE!! LET'S GO!!"

A body-encompassing ball of light quickly expanded from Ash's Drive Badge, then stopped and broke, spiderwebs of cracks appearing a second before the whole thing came apart slowly. Time slowed instantly as a bright flash came around Ash. Yellow sparks of energy, which Pikachu became, flew into him. When it was finished, he was gone. Charlie yelped as he barreled right through, getting nothing but air. He stopped and blinked, looking around. "Huh? Did you teleport?" he asked. He was answered by a painful Thundershock to the giant target of his butt, which made him squeak and jump back, turning around. He gaped in awe at what he saw.

Ash Ketchum was, for the second time in his life, a Pikachu with spiky, yellow hair. He smirked around his Keyblade, which had shrunk very slightly for him. His hat's red part was now accented with yellow lightning bolts spreading and popping across the fabric in still animation. On his body was a pikachu-sized his jacket/vest, whose main color had changed to golden yellow, the collar, side straps, and arm loops becoming as brown as pikachu's stripes. Replacing the pokéball compass on his back were the stripes that the clothing covered, but instead of brown slashes, they were brown lightning bolts. His cheeks sparked. "Say hello to Ashachu!" he introduced as best he could with the obstruction before dashing forth.

Charlie started at the increased speed Ash now had as Ashachu and barely avoided the tackle--though not the Keyblade swing. Ash himself was at first surprised at the shapeshift, then not, realizing it made perfect sense. And, thanks to his previous experience, he knew how to control himself on four legs. The Keyblade in the mouth he relied on instinct to help, though. For now, though, he relied on his speed and Electric attacks.

Ashachu turned after landing and quickly used Thundershock to annoy Charlie. Then, he leaped forth again while Charlie was stunned briefly and began a quick combo. While still only having one Keyblade, Ash's small size and intense increases in speed and agility gave him new opportunities to combo. He was able to extend the number of hits to five.

First, he slashed sideways, spinning once.

Then, he jumped forth, barrel-rolling the other direction and hitting with the bit.

Next, he landed and jumped, uppercutting up and doubling the pain with a rapid Iron Tail while he backflipped.

After that, he dashed a small, quick triangle around the enemy, charging right with a hooking stab, going left by sidejumping and spinning, then leaping back sideways in another roll, not hitting so much with the Keyblade but with his paws out in a spiral scratch.

For the finisher, he combined electricity with his strikes as he jumped, grabbed his Keyblade in both paws, and did an acrobatic feat of flips and spins (going quickly, but not Anti Sora-fast) for a second and a half, somehow hovering above the ground while he attacked, before stopping, holding the Keyblade high as he hovered above the air, and literally charging up a final attack. The world around him darkened slowly and slightly before he finally, a second of Charging later, flipped, slamming his Keyblade down to the ground, where it stuck and sent a blast of electricity across the ground all around. He came down and twirled himself rapidly around the hilt, using Spark and sending electricity about as his weight made the Keyblade tip down to the ground. He set down, shook his head to relieve his dizziness, and put his weapon back into his mouth before too long had passed.

Charlie was a hurtin' pseudodragon after the end of this. He growled and swung with his tail as soon as he could, which was right after Ash pulled his Keyblade back into his mouth. The disadvantage of being small revealed itself--Ash's defense and weight had lowered considerably, leaving him much farther than normal and in pain after the Slam. Charlie then dashed through the air to meet him with a point-blank fireball. Ashachu cried and went back through the air further.

Before Charlie could spike him, however, Ashachu found a bit more confidence in his new form and dared try and use it. Surprising Charlie a little, he flipped back, spinning and swinging with the more-useful version of Aerial Recovery he dared not attempt in human form for now, Retaliating Slash. After that, he went into an aerial combo. It was still only three hits, but was still impressive. He first did a downwards-aimed spin to attack overhead twice, then he grabbed the Keyblade in both paws and swung it right to left to spin that way and then swung diagonally left-up, and he finished by putting it in his tail, wedging his tail between the hilt and double handguard, and did another three flips, hitting down-left, down-right, and powerfully, electrically down, like a thunderbolt (strangely) going from the sky to the ground. (Thunderstrikes actually usually happen land-to-sky, I'm pretty sure.) He slipped his tail out from the Keyblade after grabbing the barrel carefully, then he tossed it up and caught it in his mouth again.

This last one slammed Charlie to the ground and ate up the last of the time Ash had in his Drive form. He flashed, the yellow energy flying down nearby to reform as Pikachu, and he reappeared as a human again, upright and holding the Keyblade in hand as he fell. He landed and panted, still hurt from when Charlie had attacked him before. "WOO!...That was intense!" he commented.

"Ow," was all Charlie replied to that. He groaned and stood up moderately fast, not too happy. His fighting energy was fairly low--about a quarter of a full-length bar. (He started out with three full bars minus some from the match before.) He was ready to go, though, since Ash and the others weren't in a good state, either. Charlie knew he could still win--Ash only evened the playing field with his Ashachu Drive.

Charlie growled and came at them, ready to attack.

Ash remembered the battle with Exexitt. 'Lucario came to on his own after a while! If we could just hold out until he can give me or Pikachu a potion...Then we could still win!' "Evade!" Ash cried, and they both jumped aside while Charlie swung his claw and missed.

Charlie turned and beat, literally, with one of his wings, hitting Ash and making him flinch. Sadly, though, he was then Scratched twice and given a Body Slam. Sound faded out of his ears as he gave a horrid cry, "NOOOOOO...!!" After that was black for him.

"Ash!!" cried Pikachu in alarm. He squeaked and jumped, barely evading the attack. He was all alone, one on one against Charlie, who was by far the most unordinary Charizard he'd ever faced. He nodded resolutely, ready to fight.

He fought a little differently than Ash. He relied mostly on his speed, agility, and Electric attacks, and was the closest to Donald in the main trio that he, Ash, and Lucario had become for this adventure. He found, to his dismay, that fighting normally instead of battling was having an effect like Pressure--his energy for attacks was being used up quicker. Well, alright, his special and Electric attacks; Iron Tail he used as a combo finisher on the ground. He was able to recharge himself when depleted, thankfully, which he was making use of now as he evaded Charlie as best as he could. Once he was recharged, he dared and gave a Thunderbolt as soon as Charlie missed. He hit, though, and was able to stun him briefly.

This was just the time they needed. Lucario groaned and sat up, shaking his head, then looked at the situation. ''Right! Come at me!!'' he shouted, springing to his feet. He grabbed his bag. 'Now's the best time for this, I think!' ''Here we go,'' he said, as if finding something, before tossing the mega potion he got out of his bag up and watching as it broke in midair.

Ash felt the effects of the potion a moment later, revitalizing him and bringing him back to conciousness. "Huh?...O-_kay!!_" He rolled off of his back and pushed himself up quickly, summoning the Keyblade. "Thank you very much!"

Pikachu thanked Lucario as well with a simple, happy, "Thanks!"

Empowered once again, the party closed in on Charlie, who was focusing on Lucario again. Ash jumped and attacked his back, Pikachu got his side. They comboed once before Charlie blew them back with a gust from his wings. It was too late for him, though, because Lucario was ready for a little vengeance.

He rolled away and charged an Aura Sphere, firing it just before Charlie blasted him with a Fire Blast. He was almost knocked out from the attack, but his Aura Sphere went between the "legs" of the kanji and nailed the charizard in the jaw. "GROOOoooouaagh...this...sucks...!!"

Charlie stumbled back, panting, looking at the group, eyes hazy. He grimaced, then chuckled. "Not bad, kid," he said to Ash before falling forwards to the ground with as loud a slam as Bowser. His neck wasn't touching the ground as much as normal charizard's do from his stomach, but his spiral-eyed face still lay with chin flat to the tiles.

Ash panted a second before smiling and standing normally. "We won," he breathed. He grinned, bunched his arms and face up, then burst, jumping with his Keyblade in the air, cheering, "WE WON!!"

"And after a magnificent battle, Ash and Co. WIN!!" Lock declared. "Hold on a sec, I gotta get down there...First-, second-, and third-place people come down to those podiums you'll be seeing there..."

Ash and the other two turned and saw three wide, short, hexagonal pillars rise from the ground. "This place just loves showing off, don't it?" he muttered.

"You're one to talk," Pikachu said slyly, looking sideways at his friend and cat-mouthing. "I saw all ya did when we were together in Drive form."

Ash blushed. "W-Well, I was just trying to use my body to the best of its ability," he defended.

They walked forth and got to the highest, middle podium. After Charlie revived, he plodded over to the second-place one. Bowser sulkily stomped to the third, lowest podium, since he was technically the third non-Heartless to last, and the Heartless, being defeated, didn't--couldn't--come up (which was a little unsettling to Ash, once he realized it). He kept his arms crossed as he faced forwards like the others. He glared sideways at Charlie, who stuck his tongue out at him sideways back.

After a few minutes, Agent Lock came down there, holding a bronze trophy with a shell etched into it in one arm and his microphone in the other hand. "ALRIGHTY! In third place, it's the Koopa King himself, Bowser!!" he announced as he walked across from the other side of the stadium. The crowd cheered, which made Bowser at least smirk. "Second place goes to the hefty charizard, Charlie!!" More cheering. Somewhere, a couple of trumpets made the cavalry charge ditty, which made Charlie smile. Lock stopped in front of the third podium and turned to the audience. "And this game's official winner of the Shell Cup Trophy is..." He turned and held up the trophy to Ash. "...the intrepid Trainer and his team, ASH AND CO.!! GIVE 'EM A HAND, FOLKS!!" The crowd roared. He, himself, clapped, putting the mic in his arm after the trophy was lifted away.

Ash grinned and took the trophy in hand, then giggled in delight at it. "AAAAAWRIGHT!!" he cheered, pumping it up in the air. "We did it! We're the champs!!"

Pikachu jumped for joy cutely while Lucario crossed his arms and smiled at Ash.

"And they win 100,000 munny for their efforts, as well!" Lock added, pulling a relatively big bag out from his pocket. "Take it and use it well! Let's give everyone another round of applause for an exciting tournament!"

Ash took the bag while the crowd erupted once more.

*****OBTAINED Munny Bag*****

***-*-***

*It's a Brawl in no special stage. DK lifts and throws a party ball. It floats up slowly. He goes and waits patiently underneath it.*

Party Ball: *flashing as it speaks in a high, squeaky, impish voice* BOING! BOING! BOOBY PRIZE! BOOBY PRIZE!

DK: ?!

*The party ball opens and drops an anvil down onto DK, hitting him on the head.*

Party Ball: Heheheheheh...SUK--KAAAAHH!! *evil laughing smile*

***-*-***

That's an old one from the old SSBM Caption Contest on vgchat (dot) com (NOT VG Cats!). I submitted it, of course; I'd never steal a joke if I can help it without giving credit. I'm not sure, but I think it mighta won that round for that pic...

ONE MORE, folks!! I kinda lied last time!! (It was 30 PAGES before, so...yeah. ^_^; )


	14. 03: Quickish Recap, LONG Goodbye

Ash and Co. took the staff there up on their offer and took a picture to put in a case with their trophy, a case for tournament winners. This case wasn't the same as the one Maru's was in--it was on the other side of the stadium. For the picture, Ash just leaned on his Keyblade, giving a victory sign with his other hand. Lucario made a tough pose that wasn't too manly to embarrass him. Pikachu just sat on Ash's head, waving and looking adorable as usual.

They discovered more fans outside in the sign-up room again, and they had Pikachu threaten them again while they charged out.

"Whew!" Ash said, mopping his brow once free. They had used a save disc in the locker room before, leaving them all charged up, but fans are an adrenaline rush all their own. "I'm starting to get tired of people trying to suffocate me like that..."

"With as many people insisting they hug me, I'm used to it," Pikachu smiled. Ash shook his head, rolling his eyes and chuckling.

"ASH!!"

"Huh?" Ash looked up and turned to the door he'd just come out of. He saw someone running towards him, though he couldn't make them out from the shadows. He sweatdropped and made a yeek face, lifting his arm halfway. "Yikes! A crazy fan!!" he squawked before turning around.

"Well, of COURSE I'm a crazy fan!" the fan said, reaching him and grabbing his shoulder. It was a woman, by the voice, and by the looks when she turned Ash around. Ash gasped when he saw who it was, looking up into the frowning face. "You're my son!!"

Ash's gasping, open mouth curled into a smile. "Mom...!" he said quietly, about to say more when he was given a sound slap across the face.

"WHAT do you think you're DOING, Ash Ketchum?!" demanded Delia Ketchum, hands on hips as she glared at him angrilly. "You could have gotten very hurt out there!! If it wasn't for your teammates..." She faltered, not bearing to think about it.

Ash looked back, rubbing his cheek before his mother pulled the old slap-and-hug. He was caught off-guard for a second before smiling and blushing and hugging back. Lucario stood there, a little surprised at the turn of events, blinking. Pikachu was hugging Mrs. Ketchum, too, wagging his tail cutely.

When they parted, Delia looked at her son with a mixture of relief, love, concern, and happiness. "Ash, I don't quite know where to begin," she said, her mixed emotions evident. "I think the first thing I want to know is why you were out there to begin with. I remember seeing you in that first Brawl you had, and I haven't had a chance to get to you. I wasn't that worried until I saw you in that last tournament where you were fighting, too." She frowned, very worried. "Those...things...They could've...done something horrible! And that Bowser guy...I don't want you to mix yourself in with them." She looked firm as she nodded.

Ash gave a little embarressed chuckle and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Mom," he apologized, "but--"

"But what?" she cut in. "Ash, why would you want to put yourself in so much danger?" She pouted disapprovingly and crossed her arms. "Was it for the munny?" she asked semi-accusingly.

Ash sweatdropped heavily. "Uuuuhm...It's for a good cause!" he insisted, smiling very nervously and tilting his head a bit. 'Let that work, please...'

Delia humphed. "Ash! I'm ashamed! I thought you were above such things! That's it, you're staying here until this whole thing blows over." She reached to grab Ash.

"CHA!" Pikachu got in her way, holding onto Ash's clothing and looking at Delia defensively and apologetically.

''Excuse me, madam,'' Lucario said softly, holding a paw up.

"Hm?" Delia looked around until she saw Lucario. "Oh, yes!" She smiled. "You're Lucario, right? I've seen you in Brawls. Thank you for protecting Ash like you've been, though I'm not so sure otherwise," she added with a flat expression. She looked around. "Now who was it who spoke to me?"

Lucario shook his head. ''It's not quite what you think,'' he said, ''and you were just looking at him.''

Delia gasped when she realized it, making Ash sigh down, letting out one of those lightbulb-like puffs of air. "You...You're telepathic?" she asked. "I'm sorry! I didn't think..."

Lucario smiled forgivingly, holding a paw up. ''Not a problem,'' he said. He looked serious again. ''Your son means it when he says that the munny is for a good cause. He plans to use it to fund his search for his friends.''

This didn't really help that much. She huffed and looked at Ash again. "Well, you're still not going anywhere! I'm not going to have my son endangering himself like that!" she said sharply.

''Why don't you fight back?'' Lucario sent to Ash.

"She's my mom," he answered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Where's that weapon you were swinging around?" Delia asked, looking around him. "And how did you and Pikachu DO that? I'll admit, I was impressed, but..."

Ash shook his head to get his bearings back. "Mom," he addressed bravely, clenching his fists. "Let me explain, please. A lot's happened, and you're gonna want to sit down."

"Please," Pikachu asked, frowning worriedly at her. She squeaked and looked at him. "I know you're worried about Ash, and I can tell you're confused and you don't know how to react, so you're acting on your motherly instincts and trying to protect him. He left your house to go on his journey with me ages ago, and he's been able to get by on his own, even when nobody else is there to help him. He actually, believe it or not," he added with a quick, sly look to Ash, "knows what he's doing. Please, don't be mad at him."

Delia was silent for a moment, holding a fist to her chest. Her brow was knit, her mouth was in a tiny frown, and her eyes were slightly damp. She finally nodded. "Alright, Pikachu, we'll come to my place for a bit," she said quietly.

Ash and co. smiled in relief. "Thanks, Mom," Ash said softly, looking at her sorrily.

**-'-,-'-**

Ash sat in the middle on the couch, Lucario sat to his left, and Pikachu to his right, while Delia sat facing them in a chair. "Mom, this is going to be a bit of a surprise," Ash began, holding his hands out while he rested his elbows on his knees, "but I've actually been fighting for myself for the last few days using this thing."

((Author's Note: It was at this point when I was editing this bit that I heard Michael Jackson had died. This ain't the place to write a journal, but...gotta say, I'm sad he's gone. I'm not surprised he died how he did, either--can YOU imagine living a life like he did, with everyone out there, watching every single move you made? Now, I don't care if you hate him or love him, 'cuz anyone who dies deserves a moment of silence, a moment where we can bear no hatred towards that person, since they're gone--simply a body is all that is left physically. Sure, we can keep hating them for whatever they've done, but when talking about the dead, we must always give some respect towards them. MJ didn't do anything nearly as terrible as Hitler, so it's a LOT easier to respect him than you'd think. So I ask, with your heart and mind, that you say these words aloud, at least in a whisper: Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. ...Thank you.))

He held his hands up, one on top the other. Delia watched, then gasped, startled by the sudden appearance of the Keyblade. Ash held it out to her, resting it on his palms. "Go ahead, try and take it," he said, smiling a bit. "I'm not gonna stop you."

Delia raised an eyebrow, but reached over to take it. She lifted it up and looked at it. "You're fighting with a giant key," she said/asked, a little confused. Suddenly, it vanished in a small flash of light, making her gasp again.

"A Keyblade," Ash chuckled, holding it in his hand again after it reappeared. He dismissed it and lowered his hands again. "Alright, lemme nutshell this for ya if I can: I was pretty close, I think, to the place where our world started to go, at this place called Nightsky City. Me, my friends, and this guy named Maru went along, fighting the things that came, Heartless, until we got on this stage, the last ones there, practically. Then, I sank into this black goop, separating from Pikachu, and blacked out.

"I came to in a shack on another world, Destiny Islands, without anyone else, including pokémon, or almost anything. I talked to the people who actually helped save all the worlds some time ago, I think, named Sora, Riku, and Kairi. (It was mainly Sora and Riku who did the saving.) I learned from them about the Keyblade, and I wondered if I could use one to find my friends. I started practicing swordfighting with Sora."

''He fared poorly,'' commented Lucario, making Ash sigh at the truth.

Delia giggled. "Well, I guess nobody's good at everything," she said.

''At this time, I came in, having been...well, you probably wouldn't want to know,'' Lucario continued for Ash. ''I washed up onshore, and I helped and watched Ash. After I told him how to access his uniquely powerful aura, the vibrations given off by all things, especially living ones, he tapped into it and, his abilities naturally heightened as if he were in perfect focus--he described it as being 'in the zone'--he was able to fight better. From then on, he trained hard and has been getting better and better at fighting.

''He had a strange dream that he describes as being realistic. Then, one night, we awoke and found the island ambushed by Heartless, who I assume came back for revenge upon Sora and Riku. We did our best to defend the island, but it wasn't enough.''

"Until I got the Keyblade," Ash went on, thumbing to himself. He smiled a bit sadly. "I was being so selfish. I wanted to find my friends so badly, I forgot about the ones I'd made there. I said I wanted a Keyblade to protect the friends I had now, and it appeared. We were able to use an attack using the power of the Keyblades called a Limit, and we stopped the wave of Heartless. Then, after this person in black came and showed me that my friends were alright, I did what they said--though I didn't trust them--and let myself get transported up into a big cloud that was responsible for the Heartless. I don't know what happened, but after me and Lucario destroyed the cloud, we fell into a long tunnel." He got his Light Ball out. "That's where we fought and caught Exexitt, a Nobody-type pokémon."

Delia gasped in horror. "You...You hurt a pokémon yourself, then caught it?!" she asked angrilly as he let Exexitt out.

"Well, he had no pokémon with him, and I was trying to kill him," Exexitt reasoned when he was out entirely. Delia widened her eyes at him. He shrugged. "You have a weapon and you're in his situation--DO tell what you would have done," he asked in soft sarcasm. He bowed. "And forgive my rudeness, Mrs. Ketchum. I am Exexitt, and it is an honor to meet the mother of my Trainer."

Delia was caught a bit off-guard by this. "Erm..." She sweatdropped and batted a hand. "Erm, that's alright, and that's very kind of you, thank you," she said a bit nervously, "but you don't have to bow or anything..."

"He only listens to attack orders when I say 'please'," Ash said wryly. "He's weird, no offense."

Delia laughed, not sure she's all okay with what's been going on with her son so far. "By the way, how come your pokémon are able to talk, now?" she asked, curious look on her face.

"That comes later," Ash said.

"May I continue the tale, Ash?" asked Exexitt, looking around at him. Ash nodded, smiling and saying of course. Exexitt bowed his head breifly. "Thank you." He looked back and made eye contact with Delia. "When he came to again, Ash and Lucario were in the back alley of another world, this one being Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town? I've heard of that place," Delia said, raising a finger and her eyebrows. "Is it nice?"

"Yeah, it's night all the time there, and I think you'd like the way it looks," Ash described.

"*Ahem.*" The humans apologized, and Exexitt continued to continue. "Now, following a moogle named Montblanc, we--me in my Light Ball--found a few things. We discovered from Montblanc's brother, Nono, about Gummi Ships, and then from the rest of Montblanc's friends about Trainers who lived there, using their own district, and also how Heartless were attacking there. Lucario offered to help by lending his aura vision, which essentially shuts off when large groups of Heartless are about to appear, and Ash was asked by Ritz, a girl who is friends with Montblanc, to recruit Trainers into something Ash later called the Traverse Town Defense Corps.

"He was doing decently until a Trainer challenged him to a battle. As you know, Trainers cannot run from a challenge. And, since I was the only one he had on him, Ash used me against the other's chimchar. Something about me--as a Nobody-type fresh from being caught, I was basically a severe and somewhat different version of a Shadow pokémon."

Delia put a hand to her mouth. "I heard about those on the news," she said. "Shutting pokémon's hearts...! How cruel!"

"Yes, well, I'm still surprised I HAD a heart to begin with," Exexitt chuckled. He pressed on before Delia could ask, "After I was not-quite-correctly identified as a Shadow pokémon by a girl who could see the black aura they exude until purified, Ash was ignored. Some of those he'd recruited quit, I believe, as well. This was when Tracy saw him and they spoke. He sketched me, which I feel a little strange about; being drawn is an interesting feeling. After learning about Shadow pokémon, he went on and fought with Montblanc and his friends, all of them a group of powerful young fighters called Clan Nutsy, as Heartless appeared in district after district. He used me a lot, giving me valuable experience, then fought for himself when I sadly fainted. He would try to recruit in the break times.

"During one such time, he realized there was a pattern to the Heartless swarms appearing, figuring out they were to come to the Trainers' district next. After showing both his genuineness and my nature of being a sworn natural enemy of Heartless, a Nobody (well, Nobody-type, but it's the same thing; I hate Heartless with a passion), they listened to him and signed up to join the Corps. He helped organize them all and was out getting people where they had to be when a large Heartless showed up. I reached the limit of my black aura's fading, allowing me to speak, in the battle, which I saw him handle amazingly. He is very talented with his aura and, when he obeys idea-born chances called Reaction Commands, his Keyblade. Not to offend his normal fighting skills, of course. Regardless, me and (but mostly) Ash and Lucario defeated the giant Heartless." Exexitt turned to Ash. "Could you continue?" he asked.

"Sure!" Ash nodded. "Then, Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter, who I met and traveled with a fairly little while ago, came and said they were collecting Lucario, who had received his Brawler invite a little before then. They agreed to take me and Tracy with them. Before I left, Clan Nutsy gave me my new clothes and the Drive Badge, which was what I used to combine with Pikachu out there. First time I used it, actually," he added, sweatdropping.

Delia scowled. "Ash! You should know better than to try things like that in important battles!" she scolded. She made a "go on" motion, face softening slightly, so Ash continued.

"We went off in their Gummi Ship, landed here, and went our separate ways: Tracy went to find Prof. Oak, Lucario went to get into the next Brawl, and I went to get a good seat. I went into the shopping corridor, first, to kill some time."

"That's when we found each other!" Pikachu picked up, smiling broadly. "He and I ran down and sat with some friends we met while the Agents were with us, and Ash learned the rules of the Brawl."

''I think I should explain what I was doing, quickly,'' Lucario sort of cut in. ''After the Brawl, I tried to reach Ash again. On the way, I ran into Lord Bowser--''

"You call him--?!" Delia interrupted, surprised.

''He IS a king,'' Lucario shook his head. ''It's my nature to refer to royalty by title. I met him and didn't like him. After narrowly avoiding a fight, I came down to Ash.'' He looked at Pikachu.

"At that point, Ash was talking about Exexitt, and I knew that he wasn't a normal pokémon," Pikachu went on. "I took Ash and Lucario to see a friend and had Exexitt get purified, or made normal. Ash then showed me the Keyblade, and we went out to the top level again. Bowser found us and Ash and I battled him. We almost lost, but Squirtle--Ash's Squirtle!--saved our skins from being cremated. Oak met up with us again and we talked in the Pokémon Center. As things went, we got Ash back his pokédex, upgraded it so that it translates Pokémon and identifies Heartless, Nobodies, their respective pokémon type versions, and reunited with Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charizard after Ash agreed to stand in for Red."

"You saw the battles we were in afterward," Ash kept it going. "We had to go into the Brawl, then went into the battle tournament for fun and experience, basically. Using the Beautiful Material we got, Lucario was able to make me an Aura Badge. After that, we went into the corridors below so I could train myself."

"Aaaash..." Delia went quietly, worried.

"It was hard, especially with those Brawlers down there, but thanks to Lucario, I was able to come up with some ideas, which became Reaction Commands that I could use to thwart them if they deflected or caught my swings," Ash pressed on. "While we took a break to get some items, we were told we should each carry some to use quickly in battle. Pikachu can't, though," he frowned. "He doesn't have a bag or anything."

"Oh!" Delia went. "Shoot! If I had a day or so, I could probably make him something," she said, smiling.

Ash's face lit up. "Really?...Oh, a day? Oh..." He sighed. "Well, we'll see." He looked up again. "We went into the Center, and, after talking with Nurse Joy there, we got things called Poké Arms for Pikachu and Lucario. Those are those things you saw on them out there. They help pokémon use normal attacks, not moves, better, kinda like weapons that aren't really weapons. After that, we trained more, ran into Snake while he hid in a cardboard box--" he shrugged at this part with a lost look on his face "--and signed up at the north part of the arena. The rest you musta seen."

Delia nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. She smiled. "That was very nice of you to help that big charizard, by the way. He looked like he needed it."

Ash grinned. "That's why I did it!" he said. "I don't wanna see a pokémon or person hurt like that, and I ESPECIALLY don't wanna fight them like that."

Delia sighed, clasping her hands together on her lap. "Ash, you've been through a lot," she smiled, sorta sympathetically sad. "If you could get through all that..." She close-eye smiled, tilting her head. "...I think you'll be able to stand finding your friends."

Ash's face lit up again, this time moreso. "You mean, you don't mind anymore?" he asked.

Delia shook her head. "No, I mind a lot," she replied. "It's just that now, I understand, and I'm more sure you're going to be alright. I'm still a bit worried, but that's a mother's job, isn't it?" she asked, smiling a bit wryly.

Ash blushed, grinning sheepishly as he shrugged. "Sorry, Mom," he apologized. "But I've got my mind set on this." He lowered his shoulders and looked determined in his smile. "I'm gonna find everyone! Even if it takes forever and a day, I'm not gonna give up!"

"Then I'll be here, cheering you on," Delia told him, dimples appearing in her cheeks from her smile. "Good luck, honey!"

Ash smiled softly and stood up. "Thanks, Mom," he said as softly. "Now, we've gotta get to Prof. Oak! He should be near here, actually."

"Yes, he's a few doors down," Delia nodded as she stood, pointing to her left with her right arm. "I've visited him a few times, but I haven't had the chance to recently. Don't keep him waiting on my behalf!" She chuckled and close-eye smiled. "Come back and visit me sometimes, alright?"

"I will! I promise!" Ash nodded. He blushed as his mother hugged him again. "Mo-oom..." he murmured.

Delia parted and nodded. "Well, you'd better get going!" she said, shooing him with her hands.

"Right! C'mon, guys!" Ash beckoned before jogging out the door. They said their goodbyes before rejoining Ash. (Ash recalled Exexitt after laughing from his opinion on his mother: "Motherly.")

They went out to find Oak and the others. They had left the stadium and were instead in Oak's room. When Ash entered, Charizard was able to sneak behind him and clap him on the shoulder, startling him. The big guy chuckled. "Well, I'll admit, I didn't think you had it in ya, but you're stronger than you look!" he said loudly, laughing and impressed. He smiled at him approvingly. "I'm proud to call you my Trainer."

Ash raised his eyebrows, then gave a touched smile. "Charizard! Thank you!"

Charizard half-eyed, but kept smiling. "Alright, you don't have to get all teary-eyed on me, now," he chuckled, voice quieter as he held his paws up.

"Ash, that was truly magnificent," Oak complimented, making the Trainer turn to him. He was smiling broadly. "You are quite the well-balanced Trainer if you can both command and fight." He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Say, you wouldn't be interested in trying out Slashing, would you?"

"Slashing?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that when a Trainer fights with their pokémon and teaches them to battle well on their own?"

"Yep!" Tracy nodded.

"It's a dangerous sport from Astori that relies on the honor system and responsibility of the Slashers themselves," Oak described. "If they don't use a special spray that prevents major injuries from occuring, it can have dire consequences. I believe that Nikki girl you battled in the final round of the pokémon tournament was a Slasher. I'm just curious, since you appear to have a good hang of fighting."

Ash shook his head. "Naw, I think I'll stick to Training when this is all over," he said, smiling a bit. He looked thoughtful for a moment, though. 'Fighting on their own...Maybe I SHOULD train my pokémon that way for now. Pikachu's battled enough that he's got a good idea of how to fight, Lucario fights on his own all the time, and Exexitt...He should learn to battle for himself in case I need to focus on fighting, too. I've been able to get away with managing to use Detect and beat back or block an attacker when they try to get me from behind while I'm commanding...' He shook his head again, this time to clear his thoughts. "I've got to find out whether Nono, someone in Traverse Town, got in his shipment of Gummi blocks or not. I need to order a ship."

"That's right!" Tracy said, holding a finger up. "Prof. Oak just got an e-mail from the R&D people. They just wanted to say that Nono got his blocks only a few minutes ago, during your final match!"

Ash held his fists to his chest excitedly, wide-eyed. "Really?! Awesome!" He pumped a fist up. "I've gotta call and get a ship in, right now!" He lowered his arms again. "Where can I reach him?"

"Well, I told Nurse Joy about the state of affairs over there fairly soon after we got here, and she said she'd send some help over immediately," Tracy recounted, looking up and crossing his arms. "The Traverse Town Joy might have gotten a vid phone that we should be able to use to go between worlds--at least, that's what Joy here told me."

"Okay! I'm heading to the Center!" Ash nodded. "See you guys soon!" He turned and ran out again, Lucario and Pikachu following.

After getting there, Ash talked to Nurse Joy and explained his request. "Yes!" she answered his question sweetly, close-eye-smiling. "The Joy over at Traverse Town called recently and told me that things were working great over there and life was much easier--especially because Heartless are appearing regularly and the TTDC has its hands full with work. She wanted to thank Tracy for telling us about it. Now there's a few more people there and enough equipment to help things along enough. Sure, you can call. In fact, she gave me the number to a phone they installed in the Accessory Shop Nono mans, so you can call directly." She pointed at the nearest phone to them. "I posted the numbers over there. Just dial '013' to make trans-world calls."

Ash thanked her and went to the phone. He dialed the number to Nono's shop.

Back in Traverse Town, Nono lay on the counter, drawing on paper. It looked like some ship designs. He held one up and nodded, smiling. "This should do, kupo!" he said. The phone rang and he jumped, flinging the paper while squeaking, "KUPO!" He turned and trotted to the phone at the end of the counter. He hopped up, picked up the reciever, and landed, putting it to his head. The video screen lit up blank for a moment. "Hello, Traverse Town Accessory Shop and Gummi Ship Center, this is Nono, kupo!" he greeted. "How may I help you?"

The vid screen finally showed a face, and he jumped again when he saw who it was. "Nono? It's me, Ash!" Ash said, smiling over the phone. "Can you hear me?"

"Ash! Loud and clear, kupo!" Nono nodded, smiling back. "What is it?"

Ash replied with a proud smirk, "I'd like to order a Gummi Ship, please!"

Nono raised his eyebrows. "You would? You have the cash, kupo?" he asked.

"I've got 100,000 munny right here!" Ash replied, holding up the bag of munny.

Nono's eyes bulged at the sum. "Kupo! That's a lot! Don't run into any pickpockets!" he warned. "I've got HORRIBLE luck with them..." He nodded. "Alright, I've got a few ships that we can build and send to you, but it'll eat up your munny, kupo...Is that alright?" Ash nodded. "Okay. Well, the best deal we've got for your budget is the Starter model. It's got minimal stats, but it's well-rounded and you'll be able to add any Gummi blocks it'll suck in from defeated enemies between worlds, free of charge, using the Gummi Garage here or other places! It doesn't come with a crew, but I'll be happy to help you over communications, and the AI system on it works great, too, kupo!"

"That's okay," Ash nodded. "How much is it?"

"Well...there's the cost of parts, then building, then sending it to you...overall, it'll cost...80,500 munny, kupo."

Ash squawked and fell backwards into an anime fall. He was up in an instant with a pleading look. "You can't bring down the price a bit?" he whined.

Nono shook his head, eyes closed as he tutted him. "Nope, kupo. I'm firm with my policy of not playing favorites with Gummi Ship customers," he replied.

"How many people BUY them?" Ash murmured, half-eyeing.

"You'd be surprised," Nono answered, smiling a little nervously as he shrugged. He readjusted his grip on the phone and continued, "Well, that's the best deal we've got, unless you plan on running from everyone or can pilot it well enough that you don't get hit at all, kupo. You taking it?" He cocked his head.

Ash sighed in defeat. "I don't really have a choice," he said weakly. He looked up and nodded. "I'll take it," he said.

"Good!" Nono smiled. "I'll have it over there and at the front entrance in exactly or less than half an hour, kupo, or you get free shipping--which is 2,500 munny because we have to pay two people: One to pilot the return ship, one to pilot yours."

"Great! How do I send the munny?" Ash asked.

"You in the Center there, kupo?" asked Nono. Ash nodded. "Just call Nurse Joy here and tell her you're sending me some cash, then use the teleportation machine there and it should work fine, kupo. I'll just run down there quick myself and get it--won't add on more than five minutes to that half hour I gave you, kupo!"

"Okay, I'll do that! Thank you SO much, Nono!" Ash bowed.

"No problem! Okay, I'm hanging up, so start that timer as soon as we're out, kupo!" he said. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Nono (literally) hung up, and Ash whipped out his pokédex and started the timer extra he found on there. 'It's no Pokétch, but it'll do,' he thought. He then called Joy.

"Hello?...Ash! It's great to see you!" Traverse Town's Joy answered the phone, surprised smile looking back at him.

"Nurse Joy! How're things going for you?" he asked.

"Great!" TrT's Joy replied. (I'm going TrT to keep it from confusing with Twilight Town, just in case.) Behind her, the impromptu Center was clean, if slightly crowded. There were a few people in nurse's uniforms, female and male, and a chansy nurse was seen waddling off with a tray of pokéballs to a door in the back. Three working healing machines were behind the counter, now, and there appeard to be more in back. Trainers and people working for the Traverse Town Defense Corps were resting in comfortable chairs and seats, like a real Center, or waiting in one of the lines for getting pokémon healed. "Thank you and Tracy for going there so much!" she thanked enthusiastically, genuinely grateful with a head-cocked eyes-closed smile. "If someone hadn't told the Melee Arena Nurse Joy about our situation here, I'd die of exhaustion and overworking, and the TTDC would fall apart!" She opened her eyes and righted her head, smiling her small Joy smile. "Good idea on your and Clan Nutsy's part, too, since those things are coming back with a vengeance lately. They're not doing the swarms like they did when the Keyblade was present again, but they're still appearing at random all over. The Trainers are doing great, too! We haven't had a single casualty yet!"

Ash looked up and breathed a sigh of relief, putting a hand to his chest. "I was getting worried for a bit, thanks," he said. He nodded. "Anyway, I've got to send you some munny for Nono. He should be down there in five minutes or something."

"Very well! I'll keep it until he's here. How much you sending?"

"Ummm..." Ash quick did some math. "...78,000 munny. Tell him I'll pay the shipping to the guys who send it if they deserve it," he added.

Joy raised her eyebrows and put a hand to her mouth. "My! That's not a sum to sniff at!" she commented. She smiled and nodded. "I'll pass on the munny and message."

"Gimmie a sec," Ash said, putting the phone down on the top of the counter while he fiddled with the munny bag. He dumped some out into his hand and counted, then put the handful in his pocket and dumped more. After the fifth dump, he had gotten out the 22,000 munny he needed. He put the extra back in before pocketing the rest._*****_ He pulled the drawstrings and placed the bag in the teleporter place, then picked up the phone. "Alright, I'm ready!" Ash said.

"Okay! Send them over!" Ash pushed the button and watched as the bag crackled with electricity, then, turning into energy, went into the pipe above. Joy got it a second later. "Got it!" she said. "I hope you've got it all there," she said, picking it up and looking at it.

"Okay! I'll be waiting, then! Take care, Nurse Joy!" Ash bade smilingly.

Nurse Joy bowed her best in the little frontal space she had. "Thank you, and be safe, Ash! Bye!" she replied happily.

They hung up and Ash turned to the others. "Well, let's go and say good-bye to Oak and everyone else, shall we?" he asked. They nodded and followed him out.

-Footnotes-

_*****_ Ash learned how to count munny in Traverse Town while he was taking a save disc break.

**-'-,-'-**

They were going along the bleachers when something caught the pokémon's ears. "Pi?" Pikachu picked his head up, ears attent.

''What is that?'' Lucario asked, slowing down and scanning the arena. ''It sounds like something's coming...''

"The Doppler Effect, I think," Pikachu described. He and Lucario jerked their heads to the same spot. "Ash, get closer down there," Pikachu asked.

"To the arena part?" he asked, looking out. "I don't see anything..." This was true. They were giving people a break from fighting for the moment. (Ash breifly wondered if people would become bored of fighting here...)

''Just go,'' Lucario said, jogging down the steps there. Ash followed. They got to the bottom floor and to the wall separating the first real floor from the ground floor. Lucario put his paws on the top of the wall and listened. Pikachu listened, as well.

Ash began to hear it, too. "Like...a noisemaker..." he muttered. "No...more like clops than clacks..." He widened his eyes. "Is that really footsteps?!" he asked in a hushed voice.

"It might be," Pikachu shrugged. They looked out at the entrance tunnel. The sound became louder and louder.

Lucario furrowed his brow. ''My curiosity is getting the better of me,'' he grumbled before vaulting over the wall.

"Lucario!!" Ash exclaimed in surprise more than shock, leaning over to watch. "They've got stairs..." He shrugged and vaulted over, too. After hitting the ground hard, he regretted it. "...Ow," he grunted, squatting in a pose similar to how Sora looks right after landing from a jump in the first game. A ripple shivered up his form. He jogged over to Lucario, a few feet away. "What're you doing?"

''Looking to see what could possibly be this fast,'' came the answer. ''And it should come right about now...''

They looked at the tunnel as the running got louder. Then, suddenly, something shot right out. People pointed and looked from the stands as a blue streak skidded, spraying dry sand, then, with a burst of light blue energy, blasted to the far wall, using a pile of sand by the tunnel that formed a curve up to it. A trail of blue light followed it like a Powerpuff Girl as it went onto the wall, following it all the way around. It jumped across the gap to the apartment halls' doors and landed on the wall as if gravity worked that way. It created a great blast of wind when it came streaking past Ash and co., making Ash yelp and hold his hat. When it reached the other side of the tunnel, it found a flag pole with a Smash logo-bearing pennant and jumped onto it. It sprung it right towards the center of the arena, where it landed and skidded to a halt in the center, creating a dust cloud.

When it settled, a small shape appeared. A spiky-headed one.

Some of the people in the crowd cheered for their favorite as he was seen in full, standing with one fist on a hip in a slouch. His sharp back was to Ash and the others.

''How the blazes were you able to do that?!'' asked Lucario, running over. Ash and Pikachu followed. ''You defied the laws of nature...!''

"Heh!" He thumbed his nose. "Easy:" He turned and revealed his big, mischievous eyes while he gave a crossing thumbs-up to Lucario. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive!" he answered, grinning his trademark smirk-grin. (Everyone felt a sort of twinge, for some reason, when they looked at his face, but it vanished right afterwards.)

Ash stopped in awe at him. "Wow...That's so COOL!" he said, honestly impressed. "Man, I wonder how awesome it is to run that fast..."

Sonic turned to him, smirking normally with a hand on his hip. "Just the coolest thing ever," he described like it was nothing special.

Lucario raised an eyebrow at the creature not too far from his height. ''Are you visiting or something?'' he asked.

"Nope!" He crossed his arms and held a finger up, grinning again. "I'm the best Brawler there is!"

Lucario half-eyed him. ''...Sorry to say, but you're acting like a knave...'' he muttered.

Sonic anger-veined at him. "HEY! I'm not gonna be called THAT again!!" he shouted testily, surprising Lucario.

Ash approached, smiling. "I'm Ash, and I'm standing in for another Brawler," he introduced, holding a hand out. "This is Pikachu and that's Lucario, and both are Brawlers."

"I know Pikachu, but this guy's new," Sonic said, turning to Ash and thumbing to Lucario. He didn't look too impressed with the first impression.

Lucario shook his head. ''Forgive me, but I have little patience for arrogance,'' he apologized with a frown. Sonic shrugged.

"So, where are you guys headed?" asked Sonic, slouching again.

"We're gonna say goodbye to some friends before we leave on a Gummi Ship I ordered," Ash answered, smiling.

At "Gummi Ship", Sonic's eyes widened. "Woah! Those things let you fly around the worlds, right?" he asked. Ash nodded. He narrowed his eyes resolutely. "Hey, couldja do me a big favor?" he asked, voice dropping some of its usual hint of annoying.

"Uuh..." Ash went, mouth in an unsure small frown. 'He's a stranger, but he doesn't seem that bad.' He smiled and began, "Su--"

''It, of course, depends,'' Lucario cut in. So as not to sound cruel, he explained, ''If it's out of our power, we obviously cannot do it, but we'll try our best.''

Sonic reached behind his back. "I'm stuck here, since I don't have a ship, myself, but I'm really worried about my friends and world," he explained. He pulled his big, gloved hand back and held out a small, oblong, tutti-frutti thing. "All I've been able to do is specially order this 'Navigational Gummi' thing--I think he called it a Navi-G for short--from a dude named Cid. It's got coordinates to my world and can guide a Gummi Ship there, but I can't do nothin'..."

Ash came over and looked at it in interest. "Please, I'd really appreciate it if you'd quickly run over to my world to check on it," Sonic continued, eyes looking a little pleading. "Just ask one of the techie geeks in this place's R&D to install this on your ship and you'll be set. Just go there and see if anyone's left after this black ball thing came and sucked everyone up, then you can come back and tell me, that's it."

Ash smiled sympathetically, thinking back to his world. "Hey, I miss my world, too; I understand. The same thing happened to me. Though...how do you know your world's alright?" he asked, curious.

"I hear that it's still there, but..." Sonic trailed off.

Ash nodded, smiling. He took the Navi-G. "I'll do it," he said. He gave his determined Ash smile, holding the fist with the Gummi up. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise!"

Sonic raised his eyebrows up at him. "Really?" His expression reverted to normal as he smirked. "Thanks a bundle! I'll be waiting here. Just come and see me when you're done! 'Til then, I've gotta run! Toodles!" He gave a quick, little salute with two fingers before dashing off the other way.

Ash held his arms up to protect his eyes from the dust. "That guy's pretty interesting," he commented.

"I feel kinda bad for him, though," Pikachu said, frowning breifly before brightly smiling once more. "But he's fun! Annoying sometimes, but still cool in his own way."

''I don't know what to think,'' Lucario shrugged. He smiled at Ash. ''That's good of you to do that, too,'' he added. His smile faltered as he went on, ''I'm not sure trusting him after we just met was the BEST choice, but I didn't pick up a bad vibe, so I'm still glad.''

Ash nodded. "Well, I didn't, either, and I like helping people out. C'mon, let's head to Prof. Oak! He should be able to put it in, or at least someone like Slippy could, and he could tell us where he is," he said. They departed for the apartments.

*****OBTAINED Navi-G*****

They explained the situation to Oak. He sat and held his chin in thought, eyes shut. "Hmmm..." He opened his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know much about Gummi Ships. Slippy might, though. Talk to him. He's probably in the R&D department right now, and you can't get there without authorization; I'll just call him and tell him to meet you somewhere."

"Right," Ash nodded. "Thanks. Tell him to meet us in Lucario's room." Oak nodded and turned to the phone.

"This the last time you're gonna see us before leaving?" asked Bulbasaur.

Ash turned and nodded. "Yeah, I think so," he answered. He smiled. "Thanks for the help, guys. I know I can't bring you with me--but I think I might have left you, anyway, now that I think about it. I've gotta leave room for more Nobody- and Heartless-type pokémon I'm going to catch and bring back to purify, like I did with Exexitt. It's been great seeing you again, and I'll be back to see you sometime!"

"Thanks! And don't sweat it!" Squirtle returned, close-eye smiling. He opened them and nodded. "Before you leave, we got somethin' to show you, though," he said. "Pikachu, you got yours, too?"

Pikachu's ears went up. "Ka! It's in my room! Hang on!" He hopped off Ash's shoulders and ran to his room.

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head, confused. "What's going on?"

"You'll see," Charizard chuckled, crossing his arms.

A few moments later, Pikachu returned. He had to knock since he held something behind his back. "Alright, ready?" he asked the others. They nodded.

They got in a row. Charizard was standing on the left, Squirtle was next on the bed, Bulbasaur on the floor, and then Pikachu on a stool at the right near the drawers. They all hid something behind them. "Ash, after Maru came and visited, I got a feeling I'd see you again," Pikachu began, smiling. "I talked with the others and with Harmony, and we all made some things for you that are very special."

"Given what you're able to do, now, they should be very helpful to you," Bulbasaur continued.

"If you're ever in trouble, just use them and watch the show!" Squirtle instructed.

"And, like us, they'll eventually evolve when you get strong enough," Charizard finished. He smirked. "Think of them as a way to keep us all with you even when you're away and can't bring us!"

"Ta-daaah!" they all went, bringing out their items. In paws and vines, to Ash's pleasant surprise, were badges! Designed in the same simple way the other badges he had from this journey and from Sinnoh were ones that looked like the ones holding them.

"Turn those Heartless thugs to your name with the CharmandBadge!!" Charizard encouraged when Ash took his badge. It was the tail of a Charmander with one flame layer of red, the tail itself fairly straight.

"Harmony said she couldn't figure out something for the Water type, but the SwinuBadge's got something cooler!" Squirtle explained when Ash was given his badge. It was a simple frontal view of a swinub, being not much more than a brown semicircle with stripes, a nose, and two lines for eyes.

"Let the power of nature keep you safe when you wear the BulbaBadge," bade Bulbasaur as Ash recieved his badge. It was three leaves of a bulbasaur's bulb, each separated from each other by the metal. The middle leaf ended in the little point on the top.

"You don't have to waste the time to tell me to use a move when you wanna shock those things, now thatcha got the PiBadge!" Pikachu happily pointed out as Ash obtained his badge. (He didn't pronounce it "pie-badge", though it looks it.) It was a simple one, being the head and ears of a pichu without any features besides the black on the ears. The rest was pichu yellow.

"Remember us all when you're beating up those Heartless and finding everyone," instructed the four as they bowed to him, both actions in unison.

Ash smiled, feeling a little like he'd cry. He bowed back. "Thank you very much, everyone." He came up, smiling, eyes bright. "I'll use them well. I promise."

They smiled back at him. "You can do it, Ash," Bulbasaur said. He cocked his head to a side, close-eye smiling. "We know you can. Just be careful."

"Don't worry too much!" Squirtle told him, raising a fist and giving his unflappable smile.

"And don't wuss out when you could actually DO something, got it?" Charizard semi-threatened, leaning his face closer to him while crossing his arms, raising an eyebrow. He was smirking, though.

"Finally, remember you're not alone, but don't get dependent," Pikachu reminded him, jumping to his shoulder.

Ash nodded, then wiped his eyes. 'They're really more my friends than ever, it feels like...' "Thanks, guys...I gotta go, everyone!" He turned to give one last bow to Oak and Tracy. "Thanks so much! See ya later!" He jogged out, grabbing his bag as he went, Lucario giving a "Heh" and following.

"Good luck," Oak said to the closed door.

-Footnotes-

Yes, I'm deliberately using the old way for badge names for the pokémon's badges.

*****OBTAINED CharmandBadge!! (Learned Fire (KHII ver.))*****

*****OBTAINED SwinuBadge!! (Learned Blizzard)*****

*****OBTAINED PiBadge!! (Learned Thunder)*****

*****OBTAINED BulbaBadge!! (Learned Cure)*****

Ash came out and went a ways towards Lucario's room. He stopped partway and sniffed, wiping his eyes. "Sorry, I get a bit emotional at good-byes like this," he apologized to Lucario, smiling weakly.

Lucario nodded, smiling in sympathy. ''I understand, trust me,'' he said. ''Now, let's get to my room. Slippy might be waiting already.''

Ash looked at his four new badges as they walked. "I've never had this many badges on me in such a short amount of time," he mused aloud. "It's interesting how I use them--I used the others to get into the League by showing them to the officials," he explained to Lucario when his face had, "How did you use BADGES?!" written all over it. Ash looked thoughtful. "I...use my aura to sorta combine energy with them, like I do when using Aura Sphere, at least that's what I do with the Drive Badge. Should I do that with them?" he asked Lucario.

''I would,'' he nodded. ''I can already feel that they hold unique power.'' He chuckled. ''I don't know if you'll believe me, given how much I see today's world relies on technology, but...it feels exactly like magic, from when I had the lucky (or not) occasion to be close to it back in my time.''

"You sounded old with those last four words," Pikachu warned, making another cat mouth face.

''Well, I kind of am,'' Lucario shrugged. ''My soul is, at least, whether it was dormant in the staff or not.'' He smirked at Ash. ''So, believe me when I'm implying that you'll be able to cast spells, now?'' he asked.

Ash and Pikachu chuckled. "I've been turned into a pikachu by magic before," he told him. "It was back when we were traveling--I think it was in Johto."

"It was interesting!" Pikachu laughed.

Lucario raised his eyebrows, mouth open a little. ''Magicians DO still exist?!'' he asked, incredulous. He smiled faintly. ''That's great...I feel so much more comfortable with our world as it is...well, was, I suppose...'' He trailed off.

"Hey, maybe we can help with that part," Ash said, holding a hand up and smiling a little. "I mean, if this isn't all fixed after we find everyone, who knows? And, hey, maybe we've gotta do it, anyway, to save them." He bowed his head. 'Will I be ready if that's what's gonna have to happen?' he asked himself. '...I hope so.'

As it turned out, Slippy WAS waiting--inside, not out. This surprised Pikachu a bit when Ash turned a corner in the room to see the frog on the bed, fiddling with something while he waited. "What?! Only Brawlers can get into their rooms!" he exclaimed, ears up and attent. "How'd you get in?"

"It's called, 'tricking the ID systems,'" Slippy answered, smirking a bit as he put his gadget away. He chuckled. "I see the pokédex's translator's working great! So, annoy anyone with it yet?"

Ash laughed. "Bowser's probably the only one," he replied. "Sorry we kept you."

Slippy waved a...er...hand, I guess. (I'm sorry, I dunno if frogs quite have paws, or some other special word apart from foot!) "That's fine, no big deal," he said. "Oak said you wanted me to install a Navi-G for ya?" he asked, tilting his head. "I can do it lickity-split!"

''Hmmmm...'' Lucario went, paw to chin. He looked up and over at Ash. ''Ash, do you remember what Riku gave you before we entered that black cloud on Destiny Islands?'' he asked. ''It looked a lot like the Navi-G we got from Sonic...''

Ash reached into his backpack pocket and withdrew the item, then took out Sonic's. He raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'll be! They look the same!"

"They're both dedicated Navi-G's--I can tell cuz they're smaller than most Navi-G's and more oblong," Slippy said, coming over and going to his tiptoes. "They each have data for only one world. You want me to install the botha-dem?" he asked, looking up with his always-relaxed eyes.

Ash smiled hopefully. "You would?" he asked.

"Sure!" the frog nodded. "No skin off my back."

Ash grinned. "That'd be great! Thanks!"

"Alright, then! Where's the ship?" he asked, holding his hand out.

Ash gave him both Navi-G's. "It should be at the front entrance--out the end of that big tunnel, right?--in..." He took out his pokédex. He raised his eyebrows. "...FIVE MINUTES (or less)?! C'mon! I gotta see if I can keep over a thousand munny!!" He turned and opened the door.

''Speaking of, shouldn't we buy some more items before we leave??'' asked Lucario, sweatdropping. He sighed as Ash raced off. ''Hop on, no pun intended,'' he told Slippy, crouching and getting into the piggyback position.

They followed after Ash as he ran the entire way to the entrance of the world. Ash realized, then, that he had had more stamina than ever before after getting his Aura Badge. 'That's one powerful piece of gem,' he thought to himself.

They made it with time to spare. The guy in the booth out front raised an eyebrow at them, but remained boredly standing, saying nothing. Ash discovered a save disc in front of him a distance away. 'That might be useful,' he thought to himself. 'It's another way in.'

They waited. Meanwhile, Slippy, after learning Ash had never piloted a Gummi ship before, talked about it. He told him right away about the way he can use save discs, not just certain mere save points (save discs without the disc that were usually transient and more subtle), to "beam up" to the Gummi ship instead of finding a place to park it inconspicuously. He told him right after that about how he can either let his teammates man the gun(s) and/or laser(s) while he piloted, or he could do it all or most of it himself. (Lucario promptly requested Ash to take his spot for now until he became accustomed to the technology; Slippy said Pikachu probably couldn't do much at his size. Ash sweatdropped, hoping it was just like an arcade game, only more dangerous.) He then told him how important it was to destroy as many enemies as he could to obtain more blocks and even blueprints, because then, he could use them to build better ships.

"This is important stuff, but three minutes won't stick much," Ash said afterwards, sweatdropping.

"I'll keep in touch and walk you through your first flight, then!" Slippy offered, nodding. "Just let me get your frequency and we'll be great!"

"Thanks!" Ash said honestly. He looked at his pokédex. "Oooooh, sweet, I might get to keep that shipping!" he hoped aloud, grinning. "Ten...nine...eight...seven..."

On "six", the clouds parted and two Gummi Ships, one bigger and one MUCH smaller, came down to hover in front of the edge of the world the save disc was so close to. Ash groaned in defeat, hanging his arms. "Oh, well..."

A young man hopped out of the smaller ship. The ship was themed with red body and off-center gun, green wings, and a blue cockpit. The larger one was a decked-out version of the famous Kingdom model. The young man jumped down to the ground and went to Ash. "Hey, you're the guy who kept going and recruiting everyone to join those TTDC people, even though they snubbed you!" he recognized, pointing at him. "You're pretty stubborn, y'know?"

Ash blushed and put a hand behind his neck. "Well..." He walked to meet him, digging in his pocket. "Well, um, here's the shipping," he muttered, still a bit disappointed.

"Sweet! I didn't think we'd make it, since my partner had some engine trouble at first," the young man said, thumbing to the larger ship. A figure in the cockpit stood and waved when he saw everyone looking at him. Pikachu, Slippy, and the young man waved back, Lucario blushing and joining a bit later. (He felt a little silly since he didn't see the face of who waved.) "That's--"

"I know, I know, 25 hundred," Ash muttered begrudgingly, counting the munny in his hand. He gave the handful, dug again, and gave him the next after counting. He smiled and nodded. "It's worth it, though! Thank you very much!"

"No problemo!" the young man replied, smiling and waving. He turned and beckoned, and the suped-up Kingdom came down. The cockpit opened to reveal a girl in the pilot's seat. The young man hopped in and turned to Ash. "Be careful with that thing! You should know it was expensive! Pleasure doing business!"

"Ta-taaa!" the girl waved sweetly as the cockpit came down.

Ash smiled and waved, then turned to Slippy. "Alright, how long'll this take?" he asked.

"Five minutes!" Slippy answered, producing a wrench from behind him. "Go and do some last-second shopping while you're here! But hurry, or else you'll be called to another Brawl and delayed further."

They nodded and went back once more. They returned after buying enough potions and mega potions and even an ether or two to restock the ones who could carry, and then some extra in their bag. When they ran out of the shop, someone stopped them.

"Lock?" Ash asked in the stands when the Agent stopped them. "What's up? We're gonna leave for a bit, now, and we'd kinda like to go, sorry..."

Agent Lock smiled and nodded. "I know, but this'll be worth it," he assured. He reached into his pocket and withdrew an object that looked like a solid flame made of gold with various symbols on it. "This is an elixer. It's quite handy, and you were supposed to get it after the pokémon battle tournament, but they couldn't find you and didn't think to call for you."

"Really?" Ash asked, surprised. He took it and put it in his bag. "Thanks!"

"And take this, too, since you're going out," Lock added, giving him a little metal thing that looked like just a big push button and nothing else. He gave him a similar device and told him to put that in his pack. "Press the button and you'll be able to access any items in your bag without having to have your bag," he instructed. "You can't use it in battles since it takes a little while, but you can use it to restock your carried items after one and stuff. This way, you don't have to reach into your backpack all the time or even wear it at all! Just leave it on your ship and go around without it! This'll also let you carry various stuffs without your bag, which appears to be able to hold a LOT." (Hey, they hold as much stuff as you need in the DPPt games! Makes me wonder what kinda problems those kids have by the time they defeat the Elite Four...a bike plus all that other crud...I'd fall backwards onto the ground, never to rise again X-X)

Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise and awe, then smiled in joy. He'd been wanting to fight without his backpack--he knew that it had helped to keep it off when he was in the battle tournament, since he could do more acrobatic moves and dodge better without it on. Besides, in the past, whenever he had to do lots of action, he went packless. While he did feel more secure with it on, he really only kept it on until then because he didn't have a safe place to put it permanently. He pumped his fists, grinning. "Thank you so much, Lock! This oughtta help a LOT!" he thanked. "I'll use it well! But we gotta get going!" He turned and waved. "Bye!"

"See ya!" Lock waved as they left.

*****RECEIVED Elixer*****

*****OBTAINED Item Teleporter*****

The party at last came out of the Arena. Slippy was standing next to the ship, crossing his arms and holding his wrench. "All ready!" he said. "You're set to go!"

"Awesome! Thanks, Slippy!" Ash waved. He jumped over and onto the ship. The cockpit opened on its own as its registered owner approached. "Nifty," he commented. He jumped down into the pilot's seat while Lucario came after. He and Pikachu waved again to Slippy. "Thanks a lot! See you soon!" he bade.

''We'll be back,'' Lucario informed, waving as well.

"Alright! Don't crash!" Slippy told, waving his stubby arm. Ash pressed a button that read "COCKPIT" and watched the glass dome come down again.

They strapped in while Ash, taking off his backpack and putting it on the floor next to him, looked at the controls. Yep, like a game--gas, brake, steering wheel that tilted in all directions as well (think F-Zero AX, if you're lucky enough to have played it or seen it), acting as a joystick. He found a stick that read "Forward-Park-Reverse" with no set speeds. In Park at the moment, he glocked it to Reverse and looked at a rear view screen before backing up slowly.

"You have your licence, Ash?" asked Pikachu from his seat. He had a tiny seatbelt on, one there just for small folk like him.

"Nope!" Ash answered with a smile once he had gotten the thing oriented in the right direction. He glocked it forwards and gunned the engine. "Here we GO!!"

The fairly spartan Gummi ship shot off and into the great unknown, getting Ash going on his new journey, away from the relative safety of the worlds he'd been in until then. The worlds were ahead of him, the arena was behind him, and he had pokémon friends, special badges, and a Keyblade with him.

"Look out, worlds, 'cause here we come!"

***-*-***

*Delia wipes her brow as she gets done. Her room, different from others', has a stove she asked for specially. Sitting on top of it is a finished cake. Next to her is Mimey, who was out on errands when Ash was there talking to his mom (read: I forgot about him).*

Delia: *smiling sweetly as she turns to Mimey* Alright, Mimey, bring this to Prof. Oak, then come back and we can make the lemonade, too! *sweatdrops* I feel so behind!

Mimey: *nods, taking the cake* Mime-mime!

Delia: *opens the door to see a blue streak coming; lightbulb appears over head* Oh! *shouts and waves* HEY, MR. SONIC!!

Sonic: *SCREEEEEEches to a halt in front of her, making her wonder why the rug isn't on fire* Yeah, Delia? What's up?

Delia: *smiles sweetly again* Could you please take a cake to Prof. Oak and tell him we'll be there? I still have to make some lemonade and it'll be done sooner if Mimey and I make it together right now.

Sonic: *smirks* Sure thing! I'll have it there in no time flat! *takes the cake* See ya! *scrams*

Delia: *watches, smiling* Well, I hope Prof. Oak doesn't mind fast food! *giggles at own joke*

Mimey: *anime fall*

***-*-***

Lamest. Omake. Ever. I know, sorry. But, hey, at least we know Mimey's still alive!

And FINALLY, after six chapters in this bit, we are OUTTA HERE!! I realized how much Ash's story SUCKS compared to Maru's in terms of pacing. That's because I had him go to DI first, and, well...yeah. ^_^; Anyway, he's gonna be going to some more worlds before the Disney worlds, and I'll TRY to make them short! (I want to make the part at Sonic's pad a bit longer than I first planned it literally years ago, I think, but it's still relatively short.) We have to do this, because there's some major plottage to do, if memory serves right...Yeah. Plus, it'll prompt me to finally try and start the third and final spin-off of this huge fic! (No, I haven't even posted the second; I'm taking my time because I wanna do it right.) Thanks for hanging on this long!!


	15. 04: What in Blazes,,,Oh, Carry On

**Bit 4: (Interlude)**

Ash's Gummi ship broke the atmosphere of Melee Arena and the party was soon back out into the between world the worlds floated within. They took a moment for a good look at the scenery around them, gaping and smiling in amazement and excitement.

"Woooooowww..." Pikachu went softly, eyes wide at the marvel around him.

"Isn't it great?" Ash asked, looking at the stars and phantasmic objects. Pikachu nodded and agreed.

''It's nice to get a chance to look at all this without barreling through it, hoping you won't die,'' Lucario mused, smirking wryly.

_"Ringringring! Ringringring! Phone call, phone call!"_

The computer on the dashboard suddenly began to make sounds, and Ash turned to it. The screen was pulsing red with the message "Incoming Transmission" blaring on it. "Huh," Ash raised an eyebrow. He looked around and found no input device, so he experimentally touched the screen.

To his relief, it worked. The ringtone stopped and the screen blinked out briefly to pop back up with an image of Slippy (and some other buttons onscreen, presumably to end the conversation, mute either end, or other things). "Heh, having fun up there, kids?" Slippy chuckled.

Ash leaned close, both hands on the dash, and smiled and nodded as his friends came over to look over (or from) his shoulder. "Mm-hmm!" he answered. His smile went to a more cheerful expression from its excited one as he stood straighter, hand on hip. "But I think we should get started outta here, soon. What do we do to get to that world we can get to or whatever?"

Slippy nodded. "Well, first, you got any screens with a diagram of a solar system-like thing?" he began. Ash shook his head after glancing around, relaying that it was just charts, meters, and cameras to the outside. "Then touch that button with a smaller rectangle in a bigger one on your screen!"

Ash did so and saw it do a picture-in-picture, Slippy moving to the upper-right corner. It revealed a map much like the map Maru's ship has, displaying icons for the worlds and a little ship, with doors representing routes. Slippy continued, "Alright, see that map? ...Good! You should see a dusty colosseum representing Melee Arena nearby the ship. The other worlds you can get to are represented by icons. Since the Navi-Gs you have are dedicated, you'll know the name of the other worlds you see already. Just touch 'em to see."

Ash nodded, smile gone but face still calm as he touched a tropical-looking world. It showed the title, "Destiny Islands." He raised his eyebrows, surprised, before he chuckled and grinned. "Heh-heh...Riku thought ahead, didn't he?" 'Wrong world, though...I should go straight to Sonic's world.' He touched the other world, a dark, distorted world with a broken shuttle loop, dilapidated city, and brown and black checkerboard grass, black and grey checkerboard rock faces. The world's title was "Mach Purgatory". Ash grimaced in a bit of horror. "Hhh! Yeek, Sonic's world doesn't look too well..."

"Well, you found the world, I take it," Slippy went on, "but if you look, the options to go there is greyed out." Indeed, Ash looked, and on the menu that popped up, the option "Land" was greyed out. In fact, all but "Cancel" (which was green) were greyed out-"Info" and "Warp", too. "That's because you haven't gotten near enough there to land, and you haven't cleared the route before it to warp!" Slippy explained.

"Well, how do we clear the route, then?" Ash asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Slippy nodded again. "You just select that door nearby and select 'Enter', then strap in and get ready for some evasive and offensive action!" Slippy answered brightly.

Ash gulped, mouth an ambivalent wave. "I had a feeling that was it," he muttered.

Slippy chuckled, waving a hand. "Aw, don't worry!" he said. "I'll guide you guys through it. Ash, you're the leader, you go and take the wheel. You can make it so that you manage the guns and lock-on lasers, too, but you might want to leave them to your teammates."

Ash looked at the pokémon, who both looked uneasy and sweatdropped. "I'm way too small to really do this," Pikachu said.

''And I have nary a clue as to how to operate this thing,'' Lucario alibied.

Ash sweatdropped. "Well..." He sighed, hanging his head and shaking it. "Don't blame me if we get shot down," he muttered. He turned back around to Slippy. "Well, what do I do to control the whole thing?" he asked faintly.

Slippy sweatdropped at Ash's friends' reactions, but explained to him what to do. He then gave him an overview of the controls. Ash switched control of weapons to his controls, but wasn't sure he got all the information Slippy told him, breif as it was. "I'll remind you when the time comes," Slippy told him, sensing his uncertaincy.

Ash nodded and sat down, cuing the other two to part from him and get to their own seats to buckle up for the ride. "Guys, you tell me if there's anyone coming from the sides or back, got it?" Ash asked them over his shoulder. They returned with affirmative sounds. He looked at the map and touched the door for the first route. "Well, here goes nuttin'..." he mumbled before taking a breath and tapping "Enter".

**-'-,-'-**

The ride was wild and intense, but Ash was able to manage it well enough. In fact, a moment into the action, he was starting to have fun. "It's like an arcade game," he commented, smiling, "just more dangerous!"

''Ash! Left side!'' Lucario barked.

"Right!" Ash pressed a physical button (not touch-screen) and a screen came down in front of him, showing him a good aiming space while his guns pivoted to point. "Thanks!"

A few minutes later, they made it through the route and flew through a wall of light. "Alright! You made it through to the light wall protecting the world!" Slippy cheered. "Good job, everyone!"

Ash pumped his fist into the air. "YEAAAH!" he cried happily. "That was AWESOME!"

''Whatever you say,'' Lucario muttered. ''And thank you, Slippy.''

Slippy nodded. The outside showed the world quick approaching, so Ash put on the brakes. He slammed them when they looked to be about to collide with it, making his teammates grunt as they were thrust into their seatbelts. Ash smiled and chuckled sheepishly when they had come to a complete stop. "Sorry, guys," he apologized. "First time flying this thing, you know..."

"Right, now you guys can land," Slippy said, bringing attention back to him. "Just hit 'Land' and the airlock will start up. Well, okay, it's not a real airlock, since it teleports you, but...that's the best name we've got. When you want to come back, just access one of those save discs like I told you before."

Ash nodded, smiling and unbuckling. He'd hit "Land" while Slippy was talking about the airlock. "Thanks a bundle, Slippy!" Ash nodded.

"Don't mention it," Slippy said, holding a hand up. "Glad to help! If you need any assistance, just contact me through the communication system. I trust you can find it. I gotta go now, though," he said before Ash could ask how to access the communicator, and he waved. "Have fun! Bye!" And with a _ZZT!_, his image blipped out.

Ash frowned a bit at this, but shrugged and turned in the direction of the airlock (there was a sign saying "OUT" above the left of the two doors in the room, the other having a sign with "ENGINE" over it). "Well, guys, let's get goin'," he said, and the other two nodded.

**-'-,-'-**

In a dark, dreary, drizzling street with flickering, orangish streetlights, a pair of heels clicks along the sidewalk. Sparks fly with each step, but more than because the heels themselves are metal. The being filling them is a short, lavender feline in white tights and a purple robe and sharp, yellow eyes. Her high ponytail is sagging ever so slightly from the rain. She walks alone through the dimly lit city, looking around a little.

As she looks left and right with her eyes, she frowns slightly, though it is not that apparent, since her normal face includes a slight downturn to her mouth. "When shall this poor city ever see the light of the sky again...?" she asks nobody, voice soft and forlorn, if hinting at a flickering natural aloofness.

Just then, she stops, raising her eyebrows a second before three bright flashes of light burst from a nearby, soggy, grassy alleyway. She gasps and whips her head around to the direction of the brief flashes. "Who's there?" she calls quickly, sounding unafraid and more guarded.

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario blinked a moment as the world came into their vision after the teleport. "That reminded me a bit of the time I was teleported way back in Saffron Gym," Ash muttered after looking around. "Wow...hope there's something good to tell when we get back..."

"Who's there? Answer me!" commanded a female voice.

''Ash, we're not alone,'' Lucario informed him, looking over his shoulder before looking forwards again. ''Travelers,'' he replied, projecting his thoughts louder.

They then noticed the cat standing in the dim light. She widened her eyes slightly in surprise. "Telepathy...?" she muttered, barely audible to the pokémon's sensitive ears. She took a step to stand facing them. "Come out," she commanded. Her voice suited the vocal action perfectly, making it firm and confident.

Ash and co. walked out into the light. Ash looked interestedly down at the cat. "Who're you?" he asked. He smiled a little nervously as he added, "And why all bossy? On edge?"

The cat looked up into his face and frowned, this time noticeably. Her slightly crooked tail lashed as she put a gloved hand on her hip. "Yes, I am a little on-edge," she answered, "since the only unfamiliar faces I've seen since in this city after the world became distorted like it is haven't been friendly ones."

Ash and co. raised their eyebrows. "Oh? Things are that bad?" Ash asked. He looked around with a cautious look in his eyes. "I mean, with the whole world looking like it is, I didn't expect much good, but..."

"What exactly have you been seeing?" Pikachu asked from Ash's shoulder, tilting his head.

The cat sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes and drooping her head. She answered quietly, "A lot." She looked up and beckoned over her shoulder. "We shouldn't stay still. If you promise not to act up, there is a safehouse nearby. It's shelter if nothing else." She began walking down the sidewalk again.

Ash turned to his friends, shrugged, and went to follow the cat. Lucario followed.

**Bit 4: Mach Purgatory**

The group arrived in the middle of a street loop. A hotel, a train station, an elevator to a theme park, and a beautiful ocean were arranged about the loop. The cat looked around as she walked. "I'm not entirely sure why," she continued, "but recently, after these black things appeared and things went from bad to worse, our world was about to be essentially eaten by some black portal in the sky. I was sucked in before I could see, but since the world is still here, I guess that Ma-" She stopped suddenly, looking around quickly.

Lucario gasped very shortly before turning on his aura vision. He growled and opened his eyes. ''By 'black things', did you perchance mean 'Heartless'?'' he asked.

"Heartless?" Ash repeated, looking uneasy at the two animals' actions. He whipped his head around when a large group of Soldiers, Shadows, Red Nocturnes, Yellow Operas, and Blue Rhapsodies appeared, the hourglass-shaped foes standing out with their colors amidst the melancholy. "Heartless!" Ash confirmed, narrowing his eyes.

The cat looked at the group, eyes set seriously (noticeable despite her eyes looking serious much the rest of the time). "Get into the hotel there," she motioned. "I'll handle them!"

Ash shook his head. "No! We can handle 'em!" The party got into battle position: Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and got his tailband on and Lucario slapped on his bracer, while Ash turned his cap backwards with his left hand while the right summoned the Keyblade, getting into stance. His left hand quickly joined the right. "We need practice, anyway," Ash added, tapping into his aura.

The cat gasped at the weapon, raising a hand and leaning back a bit. "That's-!" She ducked and avoided a bombardment from an evil yellow jar and looked back at the fight. "No time..." she muttered.

The battle commenced. Ash found that the cat girl was able to conjure fire, and seemed to be very well in control of it. 'I thought most Fire-types were red,' he mused. He, himself, decided to try out his new spells. Focusing his aura into his badges, he was able to launch the three spells. He saw that the floating enemies used the same kinds of spells, though his instincts had told him they would, anyway. Thus, he knew to avoid using Fire on the red ones, Blizzard on the blue, and Thunder on the yellow. By the end of the battle, his MP (which he felt as however much aura he knew he could get away with using before he hurt himself and/or took too much, causing his aura-assisted focus to fade) was depleted, since he had had much fun trying them out. He found himself preferring the incredibly handy Thunder's instant hit. (And not just because he felt himself as more of an Electric person if he had to choose, given his long friendship with Pikachu.)

The last Heartless vanished, and Ash let out a sigh of relief, standing straight and holding the Keyblade with one hand. "Glad that's over," he said, wiping his brow. He found it wet and wondered if he'd really sweated that-'Oh. Yeah. It's raining. Duh.'

The cat came over to examine the Keyblade. She stood and looked it up and down. "Is that...I think that's called a Keyblade, right?" she asked, a little bit in awe.

"Hm?" Ash turned to look down at her before smiling and nodding. "Yep!"

''Have you seen them before?'' Lucario asked.

"You were saying something about Ma-something before the Heartless came..." Pikachu added, looking as if he had a feeling he knew what the finish was.

The cat nodded. "Yes. As I was trying to say, I suppose this guy named Maru, with his own Keyblade, successfully sealed the Keyhole." She looked off down a road going around the amusement park, built over the shore.

Ash and Pikachu gasped, Ash more, and looked at her fully, turning to face the feline. Ash's jaw and eyes were open wide. "Maru? Wow..." He smiled faintly. "He saved a world...Wonder how he feels about that..."

The girl shook her head. "You call THIS saved?" she asked with some heat, spreading her arms out.

Pikachu frowned. "At least it's still here," he pointed out defensively.

The girl sighed and looked away. "I know; I'm sorry," she replied quietly, eyelids drooping depressedly. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I've been through a lot recently." She looked back at them. "Oh, and I never did answer you back there," she added, voice normal as she stood with wrist on hip. She placed her other hand on her bosom. "I am Blaze the Cat."

Ash, turning his cap around again and dismissing the Keyblade, smiled and nodded. "Ash Ketchum," he said, "from Pal-" He stopped, raising his eyebrows when he remembered. His mouth was in its tiny frown that comes with these kinds of insights. "...Oh," he said a bit quieter, "I forgot...You wouldn't know where that is, since..." He trailed off, eyebrows knitting very slightly.

Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and looked sympathetically at his friend, but nodded and smiled at Blaze, "Pikachu."

Lucario put his paw on his chest and bowed slightly. ''Lucario.''

Blaze nodded. "Well-met," she greeted back. She grimaced up at the sky. "Now that the formalities are done with, let's get inside before we get completely soaked."

The group went into the hotel. They found a lit lobby with a pleasant atmosphere, at least more pleasant than outside, though things were still deprived of the amount of saturation that they normally had. While Blaze's back was turned, Ash thought to place a save disc behind the counter, since one hadn't appeared when they'd beamed down. Blaze led them to an elevator and poked the a button. A moment later, the soggy group stepped into a relatively short hallway. It turned around a corner at the end. They went to room 297 and Blaze knocked on the door.

"_Who is it?_" sang a deep, somewhat playful voice from the other side.

"Blaze," Blaze replied.

"Hmmm? Blaze? _Really?_" the voice asked, definitely with a hint of playfulness in its words. The speaker went at an easygoing pace. "That's a pretty easy name to come up with..."

Blaze frowned, a bit annoyed. She tapped her foot, tail lashing a bit. "C'mon, Big, you know it's me," she said unamusedly. "Open up."

"But I hear more than just Blaze out there," Big "argued" back; he didn't really argue, and Ash was getting the impression from his voice that anger wasn't a very common emotion for this Big person.

"That's because I found others when I was out investigating the town!" Blaze reasoned. "They're friendly. Now stop acting like a...so immature and open the door!" She narrowed her eyes at this, crossing her arms.

"_What's the paaassworrrd?_" Big asked, singsonging again.

Blaze growled, smoke literally appearing above her head as she stamped her foot, scowling. The foot she stamped started tapping as she sighed, rolling her eyes, and recited, "'How many tails come from our ends/Is unimportant; we will mend/All the world's wounds together as friends.'"

The door opened up, and the biggest purple cat Ash had ever seen—even bigger than Mewtwo, much more in the width and depth departments than in the height—showed his beaming, big-eared face down to them all. "Okay! C'mon in, friend!" he said simply. He opened his green eyes and looked at Ash and co. "Hm? Hey, you're right! Hi, new people!" he greeted warmly.

Blaze looked nonplussedly up at him. "Alright, can you please move, now?" she asked.

Big started and raised his eyebrows. "Oh! Sorry..." He smiled sheepishly and stepped back and turning so that he stood to the side, and sucked in his impressive fuzzy white front.

Blaze led them in, and once all four were inside, Big closed the door (which appeared too small for him, even if he were thinner) and locked it. He then followed the group into the room, exiting the closet niche he'd occupied to remove himself from their path.

Ash looked in wonder around the room. It was much, much bigger than most of the hotel rooms he'd seen-must have been one of the more expensive suites. The two big beds were there, of course, but instead of allowing little more than a hall between their foots and the wall, they were set against a far wall, allowing much more space. There were also multiple doors, instead of simply one bathroom door. Ash's thoughts were confirmed when Blaze explained, "This is one of the huge, more-expensive suites. It's also our temporary base of operations."

"Wow..." Ash smiled, looking around in slight awe. "Pretty cool base!"

"Yeah, heck of a lot better than what I usually have!" said a young male voice. "Could use a garage, though..." Ash and co. looked and saw a young, two-tailed yellow-orange fox walk out an open door, carrying a wire-trailing black box with a rabbit-ears antenna in his arms. He grunted and set it down beside the television on a dresser, hooking it up via the frontal video-audio ports. "There! All set!" he huffed in proud finality, dusting his hands. He smiled up at Ash and co. "I'm Tails, and welcome to Big's Room!" he greeted. He motioned to a bed. "Sit down and rest, you're all safe here," he insisted.

"Thank you!" Ash said, taking the offer and sitting down on the edge.

Blaze went over to Tails. "I found them when I was walking back after an unsuccessful search for other life," she explained. As she spoke, Big wandered over to the other bed, which had a big groove in it from his weight, got on, and picked up what appeared to be a fishing magazine from the bedside table. Blaze looked over at the box. There were a number of buttons and dials on it. "So, the tracker is finished?" she asked.

Tails nodded. "Yep! Took a while, but now, we should be able to see where the other Sol Emeralds are."

"Sol Emeralds?" Ash repeated, looking interested.

Blaze turned to him. "They're my charges," she answered, arms crossed. "They're gems filled with great power, and it's my duty to protect them day and night."

"Ah," Ash went. He smiled. "Sounds cool, actually!"

Blaze scoffed, smiling wryly. "If you consider having the most boring life in the world and very little contact with others 'cool'," she shrugged.

"See, um...Sorry, who're you guys?" Tails asked. They answered and he smiled, nodding. "Anyway, you see, Ash, from what I can tell, this place got this way because my world merged with Blaze's, which is basically an alternate reality to my world."

Ash widened his eyes. "Worlds can MERGE?" he asked breathlessly. "Wow..." He smirked a bit, knitting his brow and scritching his head with a finger. "Different worlds are a lot more complicated than I thought, and they were already pretty complex..."

Tails looked quizzically at this before Blaze explained, "They appear to be from wherever Maru's from; in fact, Ash's got a Keyblade, too."

Tails raised his eyebrows and gasped. "Woah! A Keyblade? Really?" He looked, intrigued, at Ash, smiling and putting a hand on his chin. "Say, you staying for a while?" he asked innocently.

Ash half-smiled, tilting a hand. "Not really, but maybe," he answered.

Tails raised an eyebrow and leaned closer towards the Trainer. "Just asking, could I—" he began before Blaze, closing her eyes, frowning and huffing, grabbed his scruff and pulled him back.

"No, you may _not_ take his Keyblade and do research on it," she answered curtly, letting him go when he was standing next to her again and crossing her arms, looking at him with nonplussed eyes.

Tails blushed and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. "S-sorry, I couldn't resist," he apologized.

Ash (sweatdropping a little) smiled and waved a hand, chuckling back. "No problem," he dismissed. He held both hands up. "But you couldn't, anyway, since the Keyblade reappears in my hand whenever someone else takes it. Sorry."

Tails sighed in defeat, bowing his head a little, but then took on a visage of serious thought, hand covering his mouth as well as chin. "Hmmmmm...Say, Blaze?" he asked, still looking down.

"Yes?" the bed-leaning cat replied, raising her head as she looked expectantly at him.

"You mentioned something about a Keyhole when you were explaining what happened to you the other day," he recalled, still not looking at her, instead focusing on a spot of the beige piled carpet. Big, maybe distracted from his reading, lowered the magazine and sat up, listening. "And not the one Maru sealed."

"'Sealed?'" Ash repeated, eyebrows raising in his "this is new" face.

"I can't quite explain it," Blaze shook her head, looking sideways at him. She thought for a moment before saying, "He said something about sealing the heart of the world so that the Heartless can't get to it."

"And, obviously," Tails said, looking up with his eyes at them, "even though we were sucked up into that vortex in the sky before we could see him do it, he did it. This world's still here, albeit quite distorted. Our current theory is because it's our two worlds having merged together—mine and Blaze's. But you know what else I just thought?"

Ash shook his head, but Lucario guessed, ''This other Keyhole Blaze mentioned is yet unsealed?''

"Right," Tails nodded, looking at Lucario. "I remember that things looked a lot like this, minus the overabundant destruction, when the Heartless tried to take our world; the whole ground and everything started getting sucked up. Things feel sort of stable, but not quite...it's almost like Maru sealing that Keyhole wasn't enough."

"And everything's still been so stormy," Blaze added, raising her eyebrows as she felt she was starting to understand. "According to satellite feeds you've shown me all over the world, it's a horrible mess with the weather. Sandstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, and, of course, thunderstorms...Even for an unstable, fused world, this _can't_ be normal. Nothing like this happened the first time our worlds tried fusing." She looked out the window. "I think you're right..."

"Ash," Tails addressed, looking up fully, serious-faced. "Do you know what we're saying you should do?"

Ash looked surprised, pointing at himself. "Me? What can I do?" he asked. Then the pieces finally clicked, and he widened his eyes. "You mean...?"

"If you don't want strangers to mess up your home, you gotta lock all your doors," Big said matter-of-factly, holding finger up and nodding sagely. Ash and the others looked at him when he said this, the human surprised that the b—larger cat had understood (he'd gotten the feeling he wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box).

Tails nodded, smirking. "Big's right, Ash," he agreed, bringing attention back to him as he crossed his arms. "This world's our home. And while we locked one door, we've still gotta lock the other."

Ash looked a bit unsure. 'I have to literally at least help save a _world?_...Not that I'm not used to it...' However, he nodded. "Right. So I use my Keyblade to seal the Keyhole and this world'll be fixed up again?" he asked, eyebrows set.

Tails shrugged. "The least it'll do is protect Blaze's world from getting sucked up by Heartless—and, in turn, at least for now, ours (again) with it. That's what I'm thinking, anyway."

Ash looked at his companions. "You guys, we should see if we can help," he told them. "And besides, from the sounds of it, this'll be something way better to report than what's going on now!" (At this addition, Blaze furrowed her brow at him.) They nodded, and they looked back at Tails and nodded again. Ash smirked and held up a fist. "You got it, Tails! We'll seal that Keyhole for ya!"

Tails smiled and nodded. "Great! Thanks, Ash!" he said. He looked sheepishly at Blaze. "Um...you mind if we hold off on the Sol Emerald search...?" he asked tentatively.

Blaze shook her head, eyes closed. "No. This is just as important as retrieving the Emeralds, since both cases involve the safety of my world," she answered. She opened them and looked at Ash with her expressionless, poker face stare, which made Ash raise an eyebrow. "...I'll go with. I know what the area around it looks like, if anything."

"Alright! C'mon, guys, let's get ready, then get down to the dock near the hotel," Tails beckoned with his arm. "We can use the trackers on the Egg Carrier to search for the energy signature of the Keyhole. I didn't _entirely_ gut it when I grabbed the parts I needed for the Sol Emerald tracker." He looked at Big. "You holdin' down the fort, Big?" he checked.

"Yyyyup!" Big nodded, smiling. He looked up thoughtfully. "But I might see how the fish are biting later on..."

"Just make _sure_ you have your keycard," Tails pointed at him, eying him and raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to have to break into the lock again."

"Huh?" Ash looked in surprise at this. "Break into...wait..." He looked wide-eyed at the device by the television that Tails had brought in. "You didn't...?"

Tails rubbed under his nose and chuckled. "I tinker," he answered simply.

Ash looked impressedly at him before half-smiling, tilting his head. "Man, that guy's world sure has some interesting people in it," he muttered.

Blaze furrowed her brow at him again, then stood up. "Talk to Tails when you're ready," she instructed, walking over to the sink to get a glass of water.

Lucario, noticing her expressions, furrowed his brow as she walked by them.

Ash and co., pretty much ready as-is (thought the save disc helped), decided to savor the sensation of dryness for a little longer before going back out. In the meantime, Ash better-acquainted himself with everyone. Blaze, leaning by the sink, just looked up when he was about to speak and said, "If you're all set already, talk to Tails and let's get this over with," before turning away again, sipping the water from her plastic cup.

Lucario and Pikachu were talking over by the window, Pikachu on a table and Lucario at it. "Say, um, Pikachu?" Ash asked, blushing a bit and smiling sheepishly. "You...know what I have to do to seal the Keyhole?"

"Huh? Seal the Keyhole?" Pikachu repeated, raising his eyebrows. "Sorry, Ash; Maru never showed me. You're on your own, there." He smiled reassuringly. "It can't be TOO hard, though, can it? It's just a keyhole...right?"

Ash inquired Lucario about the aura of this world. ''The aura here is in some sort of flux,'' Lucario described. ''Like two different sources are fighting each other. It's most prominent in the sky, actually; I have a feeling Tails' and Blaze's worlds being stuck together like this is causing it to do that. In turn, the aura might be having an effect on the weather...Forgive my odor, by the way," he added, blushing slightly as he referred to the stench of wet dog that hung around his blue fur (though he didn't look all that much like a wet dog; his main fur was still smooth and shiny).

Ash greeted Big, waving and smiling. Big was sitting with a green frog on his head with big, yellow eyes, reading the magazine. "'Why is there a frog on my head?' Well, this is my best pal in the whole wide world, Froggy!" he answered Ash's question, smiling broadly. He looked interestedly at Ash. "You let that Pikachu fella ride around on you, too. You two must be great pals, too, huh?"

After talking to everyone, Ash decided it was about time to...quick update his log. He sat down on the bed and whipped out his Pokédex and opened the log—and found, to his surprise, that it had divided itself into different worlds and had already filled in the information on what had already happened! 'What? But...Huh? I thought I was supposed to enter everything, and...' He read the first part of the summary so far of Mach Purgatory, and his question was answered.

"Ash, if you're reading this, don't be alarmed; it's just the self-recording program Prof. Oak built into the Pokédex with the updates. I just needed you to record all the stuff you had put down so far to see if you just summarized things or did them in detail. And you're kind of in-between...but for data space purposes, I hope you don't mind if I just summarize." ('Where's the logic, there, then? Or is my Pokédex making fun of me for the first time in a long time?') "I'll add some details that I sensed you felt were important, though. Also, I'll take care of the descriptions of the Heartless—besides, I doubt you'll have time to do that, anyway. Just continue reading or go on with your life. Anyway, with that out of the way:" And it began summarizing the events that had happened thus far.

Ash sighed, but shrugged and put the Pokédex away. "Oh, well. It's right; I don't have the time to write all that down," he said to himself.

Finally, he talked to Tails, who smiled up at him. "You ready to go, Ash?...Good! To the dock!"

**-'-,-'-**

Outside again, it was still raining, of course. "We haven't been able to tell if it's night or day around here," Tails described, looking up as they walked out of the hotel. He frowned. "I don't mind a little rain now and again, but sheesh!"

"The boat's at the dock, right?" Blaze asked, looking to a dock extending out into the ocean from the street. Docked by it was what looked like a small, glorified, motorized, sided raft. Ash was thankful that nobody was as tall as him or Lucario, or they might not have had enough space...if they even have enough now.

Thankfully, they did...barely. Lucario had to sit on the side, but the boat took them smoothly without any sign of being overloaded. "This thing can carry even someone as heavy as Big or Omega, so don't worry," assured Tails.

"Where are we going?" Ash asked. He looked around. 'You know, this feels familiar...a boat in a storm, all alone...'

"To the place where this ship of Dr. Eggman's called the Egg Carrier is floating," answered the fox.

"Ash," Blaze said shortly, stopping Tails before he could aid Ash's questioning face. They looked at her, and she was looking suspiciously at Ash. "What's this about a report?" she asked, crossing her arms. "You're not lying to us and you're just here as a spy and not as a guy helping out..._are you?_" She emphasized with a flicker of fire across her eyes as she narrowed her gaze.

Ash sweatdropped, wishing he had room to step back, and held his hands up, gritting his teeth nervously. "W-wait!" he said. "I'm not lying about anything!"

"Then answer the question," Blaze said firmly.

"Blaze...!" Tails frowned, but he didn't do anything—one reason being the cramped conditions.

Ash nodded, fists down at his sides as he spoke. "Well, see, we were just on another world called Melee Arena," he told them. "There, we met someone who gave me a Navi-G to this world. He's a blue hedgehog, named—"

"Sonic?" Tails finished with him, jaw dropped. Blaze's eyes widened a bit as Ash nodded, but she then looked skeptical again. Tails pumped his arm and cheered. "WOO-HOO! I _KNEW_ HE'D MAKE IT!"

"Why wouldn't Sonic just get here himself instead of having you check for him?" Blaze asked warily, getting what Ash was implying.

"He didn't have a Gummi Ship," Pikachu answered. "Without a Gummi Ship, you can't leave worlds."

"We know that," Blaze said to that second part. "I had to kinda hijack a hijacked ship to get here, myself. Tails fixed one up and flew it, but it broke after landing."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Hijack a hijacked...?" he repeated.

Blaze sweatdropped and looked away. "It's a long story," she dodged the question.

"Sonic's my best friend," Tails told the Pokémon worlders, smiling. "We've stopped Dr. Eggman tons of times together!"

''Excuse me, but is that honestly his name?'' asked Lucario, raising an eyebrow and sweatdropping a bit.

Tails shook his head. "Not really, but that's just what everyone—even himself—calls him," he answered, shrugging. "He's this human whose body is shaped a lot like an egg, and he puts 'Egg' in front of everything—case in point, 'Egg Carrier'."

This made the trio sweatdrop. "A human..." Ash muttered.

''...shaped like an egg...'' Lucario muttered.

"If he were a pokémon, it wouldn't be so strange, but..." Pikachu muttered.

"Search me," Tails shrugged again, chuckling. "But anyway, Lucario, his real name's Doctor Ivo Robotnik. He's been at the seven Chaos Emeralds and turning the world into his own theme park, Eggmanland, for ages. Sonic and I have to stop him at LEAST every month," he joked.

"_Chaos_ Emeralds?" Ash repeated, frowning. He groaned and closed his eyes, crossing his arms and sinking his tilting head. "What next, Order Emeralds? Luna Emeralds?"

Tails chuckled again, shaking his head. "Yeah, don't get confused, but that's the only two sets we know of for the Emeralds," he said. "But yeah, those are super-powerful emeralds; they're supposed to hold infinite energy. Some people, like Sonic and Shadow, can use them to teleport and warp time and space with an ability called Chaos Control."

"The Sol Emeralds are my world's version of the Chaos Emeralds," Blaze added. "One big difference is that there's always one place for them to be so you don't have to run all over the world each time you need to find them if they're not scattered by someone else," she smirked at Tails.

Tails raised an eyebrow at her, smirking back. "Hey, that just means that the Sol Emeralds can be taken all at once, if you should get beaten, no offense," he fought back. "Hiding them makes them protected right there."

Blaze shook her head, frowning bitterly. "You don't think I've thought about that?" she asked distantly. She looked off behind them at their wake. "But no matter what I say, they won't hide the Emeralds. It's tradition. As princess, it's my duty to protect them...and as long as it _is_ my duty, then that's what I'll do."

"PRINCESS?" Ash repeated, jerking back reflexively in surprise—and thus almost falling off, windmilling his arms and yelling before Lucario grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

''Are you serious?'' Lucario asked, eyes as wide as Ash's. (He didn't even look as he saved Ash.)

"Yes," Blaze nodded, though she didn't sound like she exactly liked it.

And that's when the boat spluttered, puttered, and died.

Everyone looked down at the boat, then at the engine, following Tails' concerned look. He gulped and put a hand to his chin. "I could've sworn this thing wouldn't run out of fuel after a round trip and halfway there..." he whined uncertainly.

Blaze sighed and shook her head. "Great," she said while they began drifting to a stop. "We're stranded." She looked at Tails and, with a hint of reluctance, asked, "Think you could give us a lift...?"

"Huh?" Ash went for the umpteenth time.

Tails looked at everyone, then back in the direction they'd been heading. He frowned, then looked back, shaking his head. "I'd get too tired even just holding you, Blaze," he answered. "That's a long way..." He looked at Ash's puzzled face and said simply, "I can fly by spinning my two tails."

To Blaze's surprise, instead of very confused reactions, like from most people who learn of the illogical-sounding claim, they just gave those "aaaah, I see" head-jerks and nods. She blinked. "You're not surprised...?" she asked.

Ash shook his head, smirking at her. "I had a pokémon named Buizel who did the same thing to go through the water like he had a rotor," he explained. "And in my world in general, that kinda thing isn't exactly super-odd."

"Yeah; we defy logic on a regular basis," Pikachu agreed as simply as Tails had said he could fly.

''And I admit, it is quite fun watching humans stand there, looking dumbfounded, as they try to figure out how we do it,'' Lucario smirked, eyes closed.

"And, yes, me and my friends have already asked Lucario a few of those kinds of questions," Ash answered for Blaze when she looked like she was about to ask an "Umm, hello?" question, given the way her eyebrow-raise looked.

"But it doesn't look like we'll have to try and find out if you can help us with whatever you can do," Tails pointed with hope in his tone. They looked behind them and saw a form coming through the waters.

"Huh?" Ash and the others turned and looked through the storm.

Blaze sighed, shaking her head and smiling in the direction of the oncoming figure. "Those little idiots," she said softly.

"'OOOOYYYY! BLAAAAAAAZE!" echoed a young girl's voice across the waves.

"HEEEEYYY!" cried a chorus of male voices soon after.

"PRINCEEEEESS!" shouted one male voice along with the other males.

Tails gasped and smiled as he hooded his eyes from the rain. "You're joking! I never thought I'd see that thing again!" he said in happy astonishment.

As the figure came closer, it revealed itself to be a great ship. It had a great, wooden bird as the bowsprit, and behind it was a wooden and metal deck covered by a stylish glass roof. A couple of thin wings, it appeared, came off the sides in the back, and they saw water splashing behind it, differently from their own. On it, as it came closer, was a group of koalas and a single, green-clad raccoon girl, the latter of which was holding onto the bowsprit and waving her arm and the former of which were leaning over the sides, waving wildly.

"'OOOY! YOU THINK WE JUST UP AND SCURRIED OFF, DID YA, MATE?" the girl asked in a prominent Australian accent, smirking.

"WELL, WE WERE WONDERING!" Tails replied.

"MARINE! DON'T RUN OFF LIKE THAT WITHOUT TELLING US WHERE YOU'RE GOING FIRST!" scolded Blaze, frowning.

Marine, the girl, chuckled and shook her head. They waited for the ship to stop by them, and Ash saw the source of the odd splashes: A great waterwheel came from the back. A rope ladder was dropped over the side, and one of the koalas, one holding a hammer in one hand, asked, "Need a lift?"

"Thank you, Daikun," Blaze said up to him, getting on the ladder first.

"Where'd you guys find the Ocean Tornado?" asked Tails as he just displayed that he wasn't lying by flying up there himself. He tilted his head and looked inquisitive as he spoke.

"Well, we just went out, looking for anything that we could use to help Her Highness," nodded a blue uniform-wearing koala in reply, face stern. He reached down and took Blaze's hand as she came up. "There you are, Your Highness," he said softly.

"Thank you, Gardon," Blaze nodded, getting up on deck. She turned and reached to help up Ash, who had climbed up after her. "Ash, everyone, these are people from my world," she explained as the human got on deck, waving her hand to indicate the seven koalas and one raccoon. "The koalas are part of a youth group from Marine the Raccoon's place, called the Coconut Crew. They helped Sonic and I during the ordeal where he and I met each other the second time."

"Hi!" Ash waved, smiling. They all greeted him back (except Gardon, who just grunted and nodded) happily.

Pikachu leapt off Ash's back and turned to help up Lucario. "Hey, looks like we won't have to smell anymore, with that cover for the rain," he told him cheerily while he brought him up.

Lucario gave a small smile at this. ''That's a relief.''

After another koala rolled up the ladder, the Ocean Tornado, as Tails had called it, started moving again. Ash pondered at that. "Ocean Tornado?" he asked the fox.

Tails nodded, smiling. "Yep!" he answered. "See, when Sonic and I were in Blaze's world, we'd landed in an archipelago. Not even if Sonic COULD swim could we get to the islands where we needed to go. So, I built him some craft to let him get places." He smiled in fondness, sighing happily as he gazed up at the canopy overhead. "Oh, it was fun making all of those...First I made him a waterbike, then this, a sailboat, then a hovercraft, and finally a submarine," he listed. He turned a circle. "This vessel's got guns, a cannon, and even a flamethrower," he described.

''Sailboat? But this has no sails...'' Lucario muttered, sweatdropping slightly as he looked around.

Ash was stunned. His mouth hung open as he took a step back and looked around. "You...built all _this?._.." he asked in awe. "And...and even a _submarine?_..."

Tails rubbed under his nose again with his finger, blushing a bit. "Well, I kinda had to," he dismissed it. He smiled at him. "You like it?"

Ash nodded, smiling widely. "Yeah! It's cool!" he answered emphatically, bringing his fists up.

Pikachu half-eyed him, smirking, but said nothing.

"Oy, Tails?" asked one of the koalas, one with a straw hat and a backpack, including a bedroll. He was at the wheel. "Where were you all heading out to?"

"The Egg Carrier," Tails answered. "Lemme chart the course..." He turned to a panel in the back of the bowsprit and touched a screen a few times. Then, suddenly, an idea came to him. "Hey..." he said after jerking his head up. He turned around to Ash. "You wanna take 'er for a spin?" he asked him, smiling.

Ash grinned, wide-eyed. _"Really?"_

"If you promise not to blow us up, that is!" Tails chuckled, winking.

Soon, Ash was at the wheel, replacing the koala that had been there, Tabby. He grinned in glee at this, helping guide the ship along the course Tails had plotted. "Man, this is COOL!" he stated after a few minutes of standing at the wheel, grinning.

"You're not bad, actually," Tails commented.

"Yeah; you could say I had a bit of practice coming here," Ash smirked to him.

Tails raised an eyebrow, but then realized what he'd meant and laughed. "Well, kinda the same thing, then, huh?"

"Give or take an enemy ship," Ash shrugged. The boys laughed.

Tails then turned to Blaze. She was deep in thought, it appeared, brow furrowed and arms crossed as she leaned on the wall. Gardon stood next to her. Tails tilted his head. "Hm? Blaze, what is it?" he asked, walking over.

"It's just...well..." She looked at Ash. "I know you said you didn't encounter enemy ships on the other boat, but...I'm worried it might only be a matter of time..."

''My thoughts, exactly,'' agreed Lucario, who leaned against the wall opposite them, having been in the same pose as Blaze. His eyes were closed, dreads up—aura vision. Suddenly, he growled and opened them. ''Ash, sorry to ruin your fun like this, but while the ship should be fine, we won't be,'' he told him.

"Heartless?" Ash asked after a groan, looking over his shoulder. A few black bursts answered him (scaring off the koalas and Marine to the sides of the ship), and he sighed, bowing his head. "Heartless."

"I'll take the wheel! I'll be fine!" Tails said, running over. "You and Blaze and everyone fight!"

Ash nodded, turning his cap backwards, then passed the captain position off while passing the fox. He joined Blaze and the pokémon at the center of the deck. All around them, the koalas and Marine ducked against the walls. Gardon growled and had his spear lowered, calling for Blaze to get back—"It's my duty to protect you, Your Highness!"—and Daikun had his large, wooden hammer at the ready. Muzy, a koala with a guitar, just sat calmly where he'd been sitting against the wall and started strumming an exciting tune as the fight began.

It was a bunch of normal, everyday Pirates, fittingly enough. After the wave of 8 went down to the group's fighting prowess, three more plus two Air Pirates came in. Ash decided that he should give Exexitt some experience, so he let him out and started commanding him soon after the whole battle began. At the battle's end, he commented on Exexitt's skills and thanked him.

"Ash, just asking," Exexitt said after Ash's words. He looked up at him. "You need to work on becoming a better fighter, right?" Ash nodded. "Then why not let me fight on my own?"

"Huh? You mean...like one of those Slasher guys?" Ash raised his eyebrows.

Exexitt shrugged as best a bush could. "Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean," he replied.

Ash thought for a second, hand on chin. Then he asked, eyebrow raised, "You sure you're confident enough that you can fight on your own?"

Exexitt hesitated a split-second before nodding. "I am."

Ash furrowed his brow. "...You _absolutely _sure?"

Exexitt looked away. "...Well, nobody can be _entirely_ certain of _anything_..." he mumbled.

"Let me command you for at least another battle," Ash said, smiling. "Then we'll see."

Exexitt sighed and nodded. "Alright. Thank you." He was returned to his ball.

Tails came over after the battle. "You guys okay?" he asked concernedly.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, we're fine."

"We should be asking you guys that question," Pikachu mused, standing next to his Trainer.

"We're doin' just fair, mates," Marine answered, smiling and swinging her fist. "You all aren't too shabby!"

Blaze eyed her, and Marine looked at her, sweatdropped, then added, "Er, thanks for helpin' us, mates!"

Ash and co. chuckled, then Tails got back to the wheel. "We'll be there soon," Tails said over his shoulder. "Just rest for a bit."

**-'-,-'-**

The Egg Carrier was as its name sounded—a sort of carrier ship but meant to be on the wind, not the water. Technology abounded and red, black, yellow, and a not-exactly-appealing green were all around the wooden deck. The Ocean Tornado docked beside it and Blaze, Tails, and Ash and co. disembarked on a metal platform near the bottom, a set of stairs leading up. The storm was pretty bad out here at sea, and it was raining considerably harder. Blaze gave the Coconut Crew firm orders to make sure that Marine doesn't leave their sights.

"What, you think I'd scarper off again?" Marine asked, sounding hurt as she frowned at the overheard words.

"In all honesty, Marine, yes," Blaze returned flatly, half-eyeing. "For once in your life, please, _stay put_. We'll be back soon." Marine groaned disappointedly, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Alright, the bridge should be around here somewhere," Tails said when they were together on the deck. "It's easy to get a bit lost here, so stay close, everyone."

"What, you think we'd split up?" Pikachu asked. He chuckled. "Never works in the movies!"

"Well, this isn't exactly a horror film, but still," Blaze said, looking at him.

"Anyway, follow me," Tails said. "I'll lead you to the bridge, where we can find the tracker. The trams aren't working anymore, so we'll have to go the long way. Some of the elevator platforms should still work, though; they worked when I was here, last, anyway." He turned to the left and began jogging along. Blaze followed close after him.

Ash and company followed, too, until they met them at the other end of the deck. They appeared to be underneath another deck the whole way, on one side of the ship. Machinery separated them from the other side. When they reached Blaze and Tails, they were facing a relatively steep incline. A pair of raised diamond-patterned metal strips with yellow and black caution tape on the sides led underneath a walkway overhead. Water slid down the whole slope. Tails pointed up. "There's the way to the bridge," he said. "That's a steep slope, but we can make it."

"Alright," Ash nodded, and he jogged up to the semi-nonslip strips and started climbing. In seconds, his feet slipped, and he yelped, slammed onto the hard metal chest-first, and slid back down again.

"...Iiiiiif it wasn't raining," Pikachu added, sweatdropping with the others as he looked at his friend.

Ash groaned and got up, looking at his front. "Great, now I'm all wet and smell like metal," he grumbled, "not to mention that hurt..."

"And it's too stormy to try to fly with someone as heavy as you—no offense, Ash—for too long..." Tails turned to a round lift up the very steep slope of one of the central walls housing machinery, which was mostly that same kind of textured metal, except it had some yellow and black stripes of paint. The paint was slightly worn from the elements. "Let's see if those still work..." he muttered.

They went over and found it did work, thanks to Tails jumping on it and it climbing up to the top of a mid-height platform. "There's one at the other end of the ship! That'll be quicker!" he called down before getting off, then on the elevator again to join them.

However, the other one wouldn't budge. "Oh, great, it's all rusty," Ash noticed when he examined the track that would pull the elevator up. "Is this where we need to go?"

"If we can't climb up directly, yeah," Tails nodded. "Once up there, we'll have to find a way onto that big, circular platform overhead." He pointed to the large, red-bottomed platform held up by a stylish, slim support.

"We just go back to the other and around to see if the other is working, then?" Blaze checked. Tails nodded. "Then let's go."

They went up that elevator and found themselves on a relatively small deck, as well as being attacked by more basic Heartless: Soldiers, Shadows, and a few more spellcaster hourglasses: Two Red Nocturnes, Two Yellow Operas, and Two Blue Rhapsodies, but in addition to a Green Requiem. To Ash's annoyance, this green one healed them, absorbed all magic (though Blaze's attacks worked), and flew _just_ out of Ash's range. This was remedied when Exexitt came out and grabbed it with Vine Whip, then brought it down for Lucario to run over and exterminate with his attacks. Tails fought with them, using his two tails as weapons, as well as his spin jump and spin dash attacks, as well as summoning a few inventions, such as a blaster like an arm cannon whose kickback pushed him a bit. At the end of the brawl, Ash looked at Exexitt. "You think you're ready, now?" he asked, smiling.

Exexitt nodded. "Yes. I think I've gotten used to fighting from what I've observed through training with you," he answered. "Mind you, I've got a knack for it thanks to what I am, but that's beside the point."

Ash nodded, smiling. "Alright, then, come out next time and I'll leave you be. I'll return you if you're about to be defeated, or if you are defeated." He returned him and they continued on.

After taking the lift on the other side down again, they went to the other elevator, hoping this one would work. Thankfully, it did. They came out onto a wide landing strip. Beside them, a strip of it extended towards the huge circular platform they'd seen before. Actually, now that Ash was closer and not looking at something dark against a dark sky, he saw it was actually like a flower; six tab-like platforms extended around it. Ash looked at the edge of the nearest one. "I bet I could have Exexitt carry me there with his Vine Whips," he mumbled.

''Yes, I am sorry that you can't jump as high as the rest of us,'' Lucario apologized, smiling sympathetically as he ran and made a mighty leap up there. He didn't quite get on top, but somehow he used his aura to stick on the side, which Ash observed he'd done in Brawls sometimes, letting him stick to walls like a lizard before wall-jumping. Tails carried Blaze up, and Pikachu went with Ash. Exexitt cooperated, grunting as he yanked Ash towards the platform, having wrapped his vines around one of the cannons there. Ash thanked him kindly, returned him, and looked at the big platform before him.

It was a steel grating sparking with electricity partially covered by green glass. A series of massive turning gears worked underneath it. "Watch your step, everyone," Tails cautioned as they advanced. The twin walkways to the other side of the upper deck they were now on was attached to the platform. As they went onto the platform, they were attacked again. This time, it was a fairly larger enemy than normal surrounded by four Green Requiems. It was a great, decorative, light blue and dark blue wyvern with what Ash swore were pointed-toe clogs. Its tail was long and flat, and it was about the size of a normal Wyvern Heartless. It was a (smaller version of a) Wavecrest Heartless. Ash, by chance, found that it was greatly harmed by his Blizzard magic after he hit it with a shot whilst it tried to charge them. Something that annoyed him was that it never landed; it always stayed airborne. They also had to avoid the electrified floor as best as they could.

Ash remembered seeing Lucario's aura-sticking and got an idea as he looked at the beast. He let out Exexitt and asked, "Could you and Lucario take care of those Requiems? I think I know how to beat this weird dragon thing." He then went to the center of the platform and stood ready, looking at it hard and waiting. Then, it came at him in a corkscrewing charge. Ash felt the Reaction Command present itself and took it. He jumped forwards and spun in the direction it was spinning facing him, dodging it. (It rolled clockwise, so Ash spun counterclockwise.) He grabbed it as he spun back around and held on while it continued. (This way, he wouldn't get hurt by just trying to grab on and get whipped about directly afterwards. This let him start going in the general direction first, thus avoiding snapping his neck.) Then, it stopped, and Ash, grabbing onto its foot, hoisted himself up and was able to grab onto its back. He then planted his feet, aura coming down from his ankles to his soles like electricity, and aimed his Keyblade at it. It tried to throw him off, but he held on with his aura-sticking, though he knew it wouldn't last that much longer. "Sorry if this feels cheap!" he apologized before firing a point-blank free Blizzard shot at its head. It roared and fell down onto the platform, thankfully onto a non-electrified portion so that they could attack it on land. Ash had to hold on, since his aura-sticking ran out, but he survived, rolling off its back before it fell and rolling again on the ground. After that, they continued to assault it as much as they could. Thankfully, it didn't get up in time to avoid defeat.

"I bet it's got some Dragon-type properties," Ash theorized at the end of the fight. "Or at least Flying-type. Either way would let Ice do extra damage to it."

"Ash, I never knew you were able to fight like that," Pikachu commented, still in a bit of awe as they ran along the walkway, danger gone. "Get on that thing's back like that, I mean."

Ash blushed and chuckled nervously. "Well, um, I didn't, really, much, either," he admitted. "I just go along with Reaction Commands and I can use powerful stuff like that."

''The Keyblade and your aura work very well together,'' Lucario observed, running behind them on the narrow path. He smirked. ''Now if only you can get them to help you jump higher...''

Ash fumed over his other shoulder (the one Pikachu wasn't on), anger-veining, "Oh, first y'apologize, then ya make fun of it?" Lucario laughed and said he couldn't help it.

They got to the other side and found a wide deck. Two relatively short buildings faced each other, another thin-supported platform, like a balcony that was unreachable, between them. A giant rotating cover, like an eternally spinning umbrella, sat over the balcony. Tails pointed across from them to a large, round platform with more black and yellow caution stripes on it with a raised circular one on top that had the same design around it, alternating with brass. "That thing there will take us down," he said. "C'mon, before more Heartless attack!"

Sadly, they had to fight one more round. This was another normal one, with basic enemies, but this time some Large Bodies joined the fun. Ash had dealt with them before in Melee Arena at the tournament, so he didn't mind much. They went over to the platform and piled on. There wasn't that much room, but they were able to squeeze together. Once below, the platform levitated down to a spot at the top of a set of stairs. The room was long, like a hall, and in two levels. The bottom level had robotic maids running around, endlessly cleaning the place, more of the green lights they'd been seeing around, and three doorways at the end. The top was a walkway with a few doors. At the other end, one door had orange hexagonal switches. They were depressed. Light green glowing rails, for the tram system, weaved around the room.

Above them were some huge screens, off at the moment. "What do we do now?" Ash asked, looking around.

"Find the computer room!" Tails answered before puttering off. "Wait here!"

A little while later, the monitors came on again. Ash noticed that there was nowhere in the room where a computer could be accessed, at least nowhere really convenient to see the screens. Unless they folded out of a wall panel, but the shapes of the walls around the lower part of the room, where it would be best seen if from anywhere, were curved tightly and wouldn't be good, probably. Tails returned, holding a sort of remote with a screen and many buttons in his hand. "Alright, Ash, I have to get an idea what kind of energy we're looking for," he said as he landed next to him. "Hold your Keyblade close to this thing—that might work."

Ash did, and Tails pressed a button. A few flashing lights and sounds later, a computerized _ding_ sounded from the room as the screens above showed the same thing—a map of the surroundings. "Score! We've got a hit!" Tails pumped his fist in victory. "Looks like it's on a shore about 15 minutes' time on the Ocean Tornado east-northeast...or straight across from the other side of the Egg Carrier from where we landed, in other words."

"You sure it's the Keyhole?" asked Blaze skeptically. "It might just be responding to another Keyblade."

That made Ash's heart flutter. "Like Maru?" he asked hopefully.

Tails tapped a few buttons on his control, then one of the screens showed a satellite image that soon zoomed in. A moment later, it showed a close-up of the target. He put on a thermal filter. Nothing showed up as as bright a red as a person would. Ash sighed, and Tails smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, Ash," he apologized.

"Well, Keyblades aren't exactly common to begin with, so it's not that big a disappointment," Ash pointed out, though he still sounded a bit disappointed, anyway, looking up with a similar smile, this of a willingness to not dwell too much on the subject.

"That area..." Blaze muttered, putting a hand to her mouth as she examined the screen. "It's too dark to see, but it looks _sort of_ like the Keyhole I'd seen before I left..."

''We should get moving, then,'' Lucario said, nodding. ''The sooner the Keyhole is sealed, the better.''

The party agreed, and they jumped onto the lift again after Tails shut down the computer. The lift spun them around, making them a little dizzy, but soon the gate over the hole in the ceiling they'd gone through before opened, and they breathed in fresh, stormy air once more.

***-*-*OmAkE*-*-***

*Before this whole KH mess started, at the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser is stomping back and forth impatiently in a lobby of a print shop. Sitting on chairs watching him are a Hammer Bro. and, of all people, Bowser Jr., who are sweatdropping a little at his stomping. Then, finally, a (human) guy comes at the counter from behind and holds out a few folders and bookmarks.*

Guy: *smiling* Here you go, Mr. Bowser! Your folders and bookmarks Club Nintendo made for a prize are ready!

Bowser: *grins and stomps over* AlRIGHT! Gimme those! *swipes them and then turns to examine them. The other two come and look, too.*

Hammer Bro.: Hey! Look at that Bullet Bill! Nice!

Bowser Jr.: *frowns a little* I wish they'd chosen a better shot of me...

Bowser: *growls and clutches his folder and bookmark* WHAT? Why did they use THAT as the main shot? I look STUPID! My background lineart looks better! *swats it in his paw and stands straighter* I mean, come on, why didn't they use any of those OTHER shots of me that I did that were pure photographic gold?

*Hammer Bro. and Bowser Jr. think back to some of the other shots Bowser took at the photo shoot. As they remembered a few, their sweatdrops gradually grew and grew: A cool, claws-out, roaring shot that would have been good if it weren't for Bowser being so close to the camera that his lower body was unseen; Bowser swatting away a minion (goomba); and various shots of Bowser doing bodybuilder poses. They smile at the Koopa King with sweatdrops as big as their heads behind them, chuckling nervously.*

Bowser Jr.: Um...Maybe they just...ah...eh-heh...

Hammer Bro.: ...thought that people couldn't handle your, um, awesomeness, especially at such a low Coin price, and they're saving them for some super-secret rewards...? Yeah! Your pure coolness was just so cool, it was burning hot! Heh-heh-heh...!

Bowser: *Blinks at the weird logic of that last sentence, but smirks and crosses arms, puffing chest out, nodding* That's right, I'm too hot to handle in those shots, especially for a dinky little folder! And I'd burn any book those bookmarks would be put into, anyway! Hah!

*The other two sigh and shake their heads.*

***-*-*oMaKe*-*-***

Kinda inside joke there for the Club Nintendo thing, I apologize. Sorry this update took so long, folks! At least it wasn't as bad as the time it took for me to update the main story! nn; Gonna make this chapter quick, too, like when Maru came, since I don't plan on them returning to the world at all. (Nothing much'll be changed, anyway, really, given the available areas to them.) So, again, no Sonic characters are official party members. Also, you're supposed to be at least a LITTLE confused with the story of what's happened with Blaze and all; it's my evil way of setting up for her story (during which this happens) in Changing Paths, once that's ready. (Just gotta at LEAST figure out what Shadow's gonna do...)


	16. 04: Negative Eggnergy

After making their way back to the Ocean Tornado, Ash and co. went on their way to their destination. On the ship, Blaze leaned back against a wall. The canopy had little protection from the rain there with its style, which was like a sail attached to different points around the perimeter and creating great arcs and thin spikes. Gardon frowned and stepped to her. "Your Highness! Please, you mustn't stay in the rain like this!" he insisted. Lucario heard 'Your Highness' and came over, interested. "Come to the center of the ship where it's dry, I implore! We can't have our princess catching cold!"

Blaze frowned at him, crossing her arms. "Gardon, I'm fine," she insisted testily back.

''You really are a princess?'' Lucario asked, raising his eyebrows.

Gardon nodded, turning his serious gaze to him. "Yes, she is our Princess Blaze," he answered, "and I her guard. Please show Her Highness some respect!"

Blaze blushed a little and loudly tapped her foot at him, standing fully. "Gardon! Would you _please _stop calling me 'Highness'!" she asked, exasperated. Then Lucario knelt before her, making her start and step back a bit, hand up in surprise. She sweatdropped. "What? Lucario, y-you..."

''I was brought up in a castle, serving under a knight,'' Lucario explained, paw over chest as he knelt. ''I feel uncomfortable if I do not pay respect in the presence of genuine royalty at least once. Now that I know you truly are of noble origin, it is an even greater honor to fight alongside you, Princess Blaze.''

Gardon nodded approvingly. "Well, at least _some _people know how to act with a princess!" he said.

Blaze squared her shoulders, fuming—a little literally, since flames were starting to flicker around her—and said, through gritted teeth, "I know you mean well, both of you, but..." before stamping a sparking boot forward and shouting, _"quit it!"_

Everyone turned to look, sweatdropping a bit. Lucario blushed, getting up, and nodded. ''I apologize for upsetting you, Pri—Blaze,'' he said somberly.

Blaze looked at everyone looking at her, then blushed and looked sorry and embarrassed. "...It's okay. I just...get tired of it sometimes," she replied in a small voice, looking away. She walked back to the wall, saying, "Gardon, I'm fine. And I'm immune to cold-induced sickness, remember?"

"But cold-and-wet-induced..." Gardon trailed off, looking pleadingly at his charge, but let off.

Along the way there, they were attacked by another round of Pirates and Air Pirates. They then found themselves making landfall. They'd had to make their way around a maze of giant rocks, but they were able to make it.

It was a small beach at the tip of a small peninsula on an island. More giant rocks created it into an alcove. Wind-beaten, some partially uprooted palm trees made the beach bottleneck into the mainland, where a thin path wound up a slope and disappeared amongst the foliage. Ash and co., Blaze, and Tails got onto the beach and looked around.

"The Keyhole is up this path," Blaze said, pointing. "Let's hurry up..." She sounded worried, now.

(Before they left, Ash took the opportunity to place a temporary save point down and use it to get rid of their fatigue.)

The path was thin, long, and not exactly fun, but thankfully, there were no Heartless about. Also, the tropical trees, which became thicker as they went, above covered them from rain. Marching higher to the sky the whole way, they had to climb up and around a few trees (which were soggy and mossy, and Ash was the one with the worst of the climb, not being carried by Tails or having claws), go across a rapidly flowing stream by balancing across a log (which Blaze did better than any of them), and descend a cliff (which Ash finally had the best time at, Exexitt allowing him to rappel down via the ever-handy Vine Whip attack). Finally, they went up a winding, spiraling ledge cut into the side of a 50-foot tall, cube-like monument that looked like it was around in the time of the Mayans or Aztecs, the jungle setting helping that impression. Once on top, they had a good 50 square feet around them. A simple image of a sun was etched into the rock, but much-less-simple images of indiscernible figures formed a border around the edge of the monument and the edges of the sun's rays and center. They'd noticed the same designs around the wall of the spiraling path up there. In the center was a large hole surrounded by designs that further pushed the Mayan/Aztec theme, inlaid with beautiful gems.

The Keyhole.

They noticed a few ruins, also Mayan/Aztec in appearance, buried by the jungle, when they looked off the corner the top of the Keyhole faced (north). "These have been here for ages," Blaze explained, "on this island we call Locked Island. See, that Keyhole wasn't a hole a child could fit into for most of time," she pointed. "It was actually plain dirt. People have tried digging into it, but it's some of the densest earth anyone had ever tried to dig into. My predecessor and her family decreed that this place, the Door Cube we stand on and the entire rest of the ruins, was a protected landmark, and that we would not allow any machinery to dig down into the dirt in the hole."

"Then what's all that, then?" Pikachu asked, pointing.

Disturbing the peace and atmosphere of the ruins, a few electronic devices with antennas that glowed yellow at the tip sat around the Keyhole. Wires connected them. It appeared to be an array of sorts. A black remote control pad with a distinctive broad, hooking double-wave shape with two diagonal sets of three buttons on the right and a digital directional pad on the left sat beside the array.

"_That_ would be Eggman Nega's doing," Blaze answered, glaring at the device. She reached down and ripped the array away, stamping on the controller. "Anyway, to finish my little tour bit," she continued, walking back to the north corner (where they'd been standing before), arms crossed, "the ruins you see below contain odd images of some long-gone race. We've studied the creatures depicted in many of the murals and carvings, and the closest we've come up with are a race of spiky-haired beings with big fists and great strength."

Tails thought for a moment, adopting the thinking pose he'd taken in the hotel room. "Kinda like Knuckles?" he asked.

"Huh?" Blaze turned to Tails, raising her eyebrow. "Who?...Oh, yeah, the red guy who might to this day want to turn my head into jam after that little altercation we had..." She nodded. "Echidnas are the closest we could come to for what they were."

"We have similar ruins, actually," Tails added, still looking deeply thoughtful, "in the Mystic Ruins, and on Angel Island, where Knuckles lives."

Blaze raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked. "How similar?"

"Pretty dang."

Blaze blinked, then widened her eyes briefly before shaking her head. "No, it can't be..." she murmured.

"Anyway, we should seal this Keyhole, shouldn't we?" asked Ash, pointing to the hole in the rock.

A hole that suddenly was struck by lightning from above. When the light faded, they found a blue screen of light over it.

"WHAT THE-?" Ash cried when they saw the light screen, all of them turning at the lightning and physically reacting at the aftermath. Ash ran towards it. Pikachu and Lucario followed.

"That's not..." Tails began, confused, pointing.

Blaze narrowed her eyes. "No, it's not natural," she agreed gravely. She dashed forwards after them.

Lucario slowed to a stop when he looked at the hole. ''It's beyond natural,'' he supplied, growling. He looked around quickly. ''Ash, get back!''

Ash did as he was told, and just in time. Suddenly, from the Keyhole came an unearthly wail. Then, a wisp of blue energy, like a balloon, outlined hazily with violet energy, rose up from the Keyhole. As it grew and grew, two great, long arms appeared, having more bulk in the forearms, and bearing four digits. Then, two legs, with shoe-like feet, came from the bottom, and it tapered off from the Keyhole. It was like a strange gum bubble with limbs and a tail before it. It stood about 25 feet tall. Then, lightning struck it in its arms and on its head, going down to its chest, and illuminated the area, nearly deafening everyone, while wind surged towards it. When it all cleared, it had gained basic-looking bones in its arms, hands, and chest. Its head had bulged out a little more as a giant, humanesque skull sat atop it. The eye sockets were empty until they looked into them, upon which they illuminated with two red orbs. The white bones then rapidly darkened to black as it suddenly leaned down to Ash's face and let out that wail again.

"We _know,_ we _know,_ you're gonna kill us," Ash called up back at it annoyedly, rolling his eyes as he turned his cap backwards. He got into stance as his teammates came beside him, equipping themselves as well. "Heard ya the first time."

The ghostly beast looked over at Blaze suddenly, the orbs in its eyes more like the pupils and irises than the whole eyeball. Without moving its jaw, it hissed, _"Pretender..."_

Blaze narrowed her gaze and clenched her fist. "I guess your friend couldn't tell you, so I'll repeat myself: I'm not pretending _anything!_" she shouted back defiantly.

"_Pretender..." _it hissed again, looking at Ash's Keyblade.

Ash blinked for a moment at this. "Huh? Pre..." He anger-veined and shouted, "HEY! I may not be an adult yet, but that doesn't mean I'm pretending ANYTHIN'! I'm takin' this seriously!"

The ghost looked at both of them before banging its fists together. _"Denier...Denier..."_ it breathed. Rings of black clouds surrounded its wrists, black clouds arcing with angry lighting and...were they raining bright blood onto its phantasmal skin? It was too far away from them, too close to it, to tell...but whatever they were, they seemed to spread from there to its fists. _"Only truth seals Keyholes..." _It spread its arms apart and reeled back, crying, jaw moving this time, _**"Only truth passes Ro-ok!"**_

The fight against Ro-ok (ROW-oak) began (with it, for some reason, not having the black clouds on and turning its bones white again; perhaps it just did that before for intimidation). Ash had no idea what to do—he assumed it had a weakness, and that the bones were said weakness, but he hadn't the slightest clue how to get all the way up there. His Keyblade and his companions' attacks did nothing to the legs—just passed through. Blaze told them as they fought, "This is similar to a being I fought recently. I could only dispel it by striking the bony parts..." She looked up, grimacing. "Getting there will be a problem, though..." They did, however, find that using magic and moves struck it, but no matter how much they attacked its legs, it refused to kneel. Ash also couldn't grab onto it, since it appeared deliberately trying to touch it made their bodies pass through. It didn't work the other way around, though.

Ro-ok generally stayed in place, standing directly over the Keyhole, but sometimes stepped slowly towards them. It kicked when they were near its feet and weren't trying to attack. It also swung with its fists whenever Tails tried to fly up and strike at its bone parts. Thunder and Electric attacks did little to it, oddly, so Tails' blaster and Pikachu's long-range attacks were out. To make things worse, Aura Sphere was ineffective entirely—it appeared to be of the Ghost type in those cases. If Ash and co. were farther from it, it would try and slam at them with a palm to the ground, creating a large shockwave. Ash, sadly, couldn't quite jump it most of the time; he had to leap at the latest time possible to avoid it. It also retracted the arm quick enough that nobody could get a good hit in on it.

Then it brought back the black clouds once more when they were even farther from it. As it did, its bones darkened again. It stepped back to a corner, brought its fists forward next to each other, and the clouds stayed as rings that accelerated their opposite rotations briefly before, with a ghostly grunt, firing a hail of soccer ball-sized, red, drop-shaped energy bullets like a machine gun. They had a bit of trouble avoiding this, as it tailed Ash (who was the primary target, for some reason; probably something to do with what Ro-ok said before about the Keyhole) tightly as he ran full-speed; the others behind him got hit if they were too close. It took about three seconds before it paused a moment, stepping forward again. (The firing had pushed it back a bit.) It then fired again. This repeated for a total of three times before it came in with a leap to double-fist slam them from above, legs and lower body up in the air still. If they avoided the punches, they were more than likely hit with the spiral-shaped sprays of bullets from its wrists, not to mention the massive shockwave if they didn't jump in time. As consolation, though, it stayed with its arms down for a decent few seconds. The points it fired from were set, too, coming from only six points around its wrists; one could easily avoid them by standing in the right place. Pikachu, Tails, and Blaze, being the fastest, made use of this first, Lucario being the one to spot it. He'd turned and backpedaled when he was out of range of the fists, and after he jumped the shockwave, he soon noticed the way the bullets fired from the wrists. ''The wrists have chinks!'' he cried, pointing while he stood in a spot the bullets didn't touch. (It was much like an on-foot version of a billion-bullet scrolling shooter.)

Tails, flying over the spray, understood what he meant instantly, nodded and zoomed off, Blaze and Pikachu joining. They got there with only a couple seconds left (two seconds after the five it was firing, during which time it slowly lowered its lower body to stand and pull its fists out) and began attacking. As Blaze had said, the attacks hit. They scored as many hits as they could before their targets had been taken away.

The battle went on. Occasionally, amidst the stomping and palm-slamming, it would stand, raising its fists up to the clouds, bones blackening briefly before it brought its fists down to its sides as if hammering down waist-height foes on either side. As it did, the black in its bones burst out as black clouds that lifted up before swarming down to everyone. It encircled everyone individually, and each of them felt their strength sapped gradually. They all fought to dispel it, which they were soon able to do with enough attacks. Blaze, however, they saw after breaking free, had flaming dark clouds around her; somehow, she was drawing in the clouds to combine with her spinning attack she often used. She stopped spinning, and the clouds became rings around her ankles and wrists. She looked at this in confusion. "When I did my Axel, it sucked in the darkness...?"

"Dark..." Ash muttered. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Blaze!" he called. "Use the dark clouds and hit that thing with a taste of its own medicine!"

"How? Tails can't fly up and carry me, he'll get punched!" Blaze called back. (Of course, this whole series of events occurred amidst more standard attacks, which they dodged as best as they could.)

"I'll launch you up with my Keyblade!" Ash replied, knowing full-well that he'd just come up with a Reaction Command that had been bugging him since he heard that Blaze was able to strike their bones. "When he tries to—NOW!"

At that moment, Ro-ok tried its slam. The Reaction Command made his aura pulse and he jumped far aside. Blaze jumped towards him at the same time, and when they met midair, avoiding the slam quite well, Ash put his Keyblade under her feet and launched her upwards towards Ro-ok, spinning in her Axel Jump. She soared up, a top of darkness and fire, and got near its head. The fire and darkness suddenly blew the opposite direction, like an eddy, off of her, before she used her momentum to kick the tornado towards its head. It yelled after being struck, rocking back, then fell, palms on the ground barely supporting it as it knelt, dazed. Its bones were white, but they knew they could still hit it.

Now that it was in range, Ash could finally attack it. He went for the arms, the only thing he could reach, after the shockwave passed. "I knew it! It's a Ghost-type, and that darkness is like Dark-type stuff!" Ash said as he fought. They were all able to get in a few combos before it pushed off and began attacking again. It began slamming a cloudy fist down when they were at a good distance, making a web of darkness-spewing cracks rush towards them. It lifted its fist and it went away, though. If it got to a corner sometimes, it would begin the "blood" chain gun.

By this time, Ash was confident enough that he could dodge or guard them as he went, and he decided to see what would happen if he got moderately close to it. So, he ran toward Ro-ok as it fired, swerving to avoid what he could and blocking when he had to. Whenever he started to block, though, it kept pushing him back, which annoyed him. However, he made it to the center of the sun (finding the Keyhole's barrier was like a floor). At that point, it stopped, partway into its second wave, and hissed as it separated its hands. A ball of swirling dark cloud formed between its palms, about the size of a car, before it fired it at Ash. Ash felt that it was then his turn to strike back.

He remembered Blaze's whirling had pulled in the clouds before...He used the Reaction Command he felt suddenly and threw his Keyblade so that it spun rapidly horizontally while it rose at a sharp upwards angle. It collided with the dark cloud ball, and Ash (without it being a freebie, this time, sadly) cast Fire around the Keyblade. It spread and worked much like Blaze's did. The cloud ball disappeared with the Keyblade after it had sucked around it, and Ash held it again. Without another moment to lose, he spun and launched it in a mighty Strike Raid. It struck its chest and it fell down entirely. They attacked its head for a few moments before it rose again. Naturally, attacking the head was better than nothing.

There were no new forms of attack from Ro-ok, so they used the tactics they had come up with to deal with each form of attack. While avoiding attacks, Ash would use his Keyblade and Blaze would use her body to suck up the dark clouds during their respective times, then use it against Ro-ok to stun it and land a few hits. Eventually, Ash dealt the finishing blow. Ro-ok made no sound—no grunts of disbelief, no nothing.

Ro-ok stood over the Keyhole, seemingly panting. Across from it, Ash and co. and the two anthropomorphs stood in a wide V before it, Ash at the tip. Ro-ok looked down at Ash, then bowed its head. With a slam, it fell to its knees. _"...Appropriate..."_ it hissed. It then opened its jaw and began charging some kind of laser, bones blackening once more. _"Fade!"_

Ash grimaced and reeled back his Keyblade. "Not if I..." He let fly. "...can help it!" The Strike Raid flew out and landed smack-dab in its forehead. It stopped charging while a light shone from the point the weapon stuck.

It let out one last whisper before it was bathed in sparkling light from the top down, causing it to vanish: _"...Keyblader..."_ When it faded, Ash's Keyblade fell down and clattered to the ground by the Keyhole, whose covering vanished in a flash. Ash, after wiping his brow, walked over to the Keyblade.

"Huh?" he stopped when it suddenly turned, like a compass needle, towards the Keyhole.

''It must want to seal it or something,'' Lucario guessed, walking over with the others.

Ash shrugged and picked it up. He stood in front of the Keyhole, then nodded before, after making sure he had enough space, passing the Keyblade around his back straight (no twirls), tossing it up, then leaning back to catch it before it fell behind him, balancing on one foot. After catching it, he swung himself forwards again with his raised leg and aimed the Keyblade, point-down, at the Keyhole. A light formed at the tip before it fired a thin beam of light into the hole. A moment later, a _CLICK._ was heard, and the light beam stopped before the Keyhole glowed bright and white.

Everyone looked around as the ground began to shake, the light spreading out until it blinded them. When they looked up again, they gasped.

The rain had stopped. The clouds had gone. A beautiful, starry night shone down on them. When they looked back at the Keyhole, it was gone. Only the border around it remained. Normal stone was in place.

"The weather..." muttered Tails, looking up. He smiled and pumped his fists. "You did it! Ash, you fixed the weather by sealing the Keyhole!" he exclaimed excitedly to him.

Ash chuckled and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Aw, thanks," he said. "You guys _did_ kinda tell me to, though."

"It's not all over, of course," Blaze said solemnly, and they looked at her. She was looking up, serious expression on again. "I've still got to find the other Sol Emeralds."

Ash smiled and nodded at her. "You'll find 'em, Blaze," he said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

Blaze gave him a small smile.

Tails then looked at Ash. "Hey, Ash?" he asked. Ash turned to him. "Could you take me to see Sonic?" he asked.

Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What for?" he asked.

Tails smiled. "I can build him a Gummi Ship and we can get back here," he explained. "I think it's better to just rebuild a Gummi Ship on my own, anyway, instead of try and fix it up."

Ash smiled and nodded again. "Alright, then, c'mon!" he said.

Tails grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Ash!"

"We should get back to Big's Room," Blaze said, and they all nodded in agreement before turning to walk back down.

**-'-,-'-**

After another onboard Pirate battle, the group finally docked into Station Square. "It's so much nicer now that it's not raining," Pikachu commented, smiling, as they walked across the dock.

"Well, not for those who actually _like _the rain, it isn't," said a calm, yet cranky voice.

Blaze and Tails whipped around at the sound of it and grimaced, Blaze especially, before running into the road. "Nega!" she called bitterly, clenching a fist.

Out from the shadow of the train station steps came an old man. His moderately tall, thin-limbed body was egg-shaped, it appeared, and he mostly wore a red jumpsuit with a white seam up the middle. Over it, he wore a black, open, yellow-accented tailcoat with big, white buttons, and on his feet were black-and-yellow-striped long-toed boots. He had white gloves on, one up to his chin (or close to that area; it was hard to tell since he didn't appear to have a neck). His mustache was huge, poofy, and white, growing from under a long, pointed, pinkish nose. Pointed sunglasses, rimless and earpieceless, covered his eyes and green-lensed, visor-style goggles sat atop his bald head. He had a broad smile on his face despite his words. He stopped in the little island in the middle of the triangular street loop and steepled his fingertips together. "Oh, Blaze, you never cease to annoy me, my dear," he stated pleasantly.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Egg-shaped body..." he muttered before asking, louder, "Are you Dr. Eggman?"

The man looked at Ash and chuckled, smirking. "Why is it that people in this world are so apt to confuse people with others before realizing key differences, such as hair color or style of dress?" he asked nobody. "I am not from this world, Key Boy, I'm from Blaze's." He bowed, sweeping an arm in front and in back. "I am Eggman Nega. It is a pleasure to meet you, my little whelp."

Ash wasn't the only one confused by Nega's polite, yet insulting, way of speech. Pikachu and Lucario shared eyebrow raises with him for a moment.

"He's Eggman's equivalent in Blaze's world, Ash," Tails explained over his shoulder. "He's actually a bit smarter than our Eggman." He looked forward again, grimacing and glaring. "I was wondering if you were behind this!"

Nega grinned widely. "So I was, to some extent," he admitted calmly. "You see, I had heard legends of the strange keyhole-shaped patch of dirt on Locked Island back when our worlds were two and not one. One of which I decoded myself from ancient scriptures photographed at the ruins site. From what I could tell, there was an unfathomable source of power, even more powerful than that of the Sol Emeralds, buried deep under that column of soil and detritus. As well, my satellites detected strange, unknown energy readings from the Door Block. Naturally, I sought to claim that power as my own. After setting up my array around it, I discovered that the power source was connected to a source deep in the core of the planet, but it wasn't the core—it went past a barrier unique to the world that separates the world from its heart, yet binds it. This barrier is quite easy to pass, actually, for anyone with the means to absorb energy, which is why the people who erected the monument filled it with 'sacred' dirt, which would throw off anything trying to take the energy source. The energy they used to conceal the energy from the hole weakened over time, and then they all died off, leaving it a wonder why nobody had tried to dig it up beforehand. So I just blew it all to high Heaven.

"Unfortunately," he sighed, continuing, grin still there, "this attracted those wicked little Heartless. It could not have possibly been my subsequent attempt to extract the energy with my array, because nothing should move _that_ quickly through time and space—I had just begun when they appeared. Now, you all ought to be thankful—had I not lured them into that portal across time and space that I'd opened up, that Keyhole would have been invaded then and there."

"Correction, Nega," Blaze cut in, narrowing her gaze: "You tried to shove them in and it didn't work, so you bailed."

Nega scoffed, but shrugged. "Alright, but I at least stalled them," he calmly argued. "Now, I come back to see that the wretched thing is no longer a gaping hole, but a solid piece of rock. I did not think that a Keybearer would come so soon—but imagine my surprise when I find how recently, indeed, it had been sealed." He pointed to Ash, who had cautiously stepped into the road, away from the dock. "Now nobody can access the energies of the heart of the world. And for that, I must repay the favor..." His shades gleamed as he lowered his head a bit. "...by making sure nobody can access _you_ while you write in the world below!" He reached behind his back quickly, giving a triumphant laugh, and came out again with...nothing. "HEE-HEE..._Huh?_"

"_Struth_, but aren't you a yacker," exasperated Marine from behind him. Nega turned and saw her tossing and catching a remote control box, smirking with one hand on her hip.

''Not to mention a very irresponsible man, trying to sweep your mess under the rug like you did,'' Lucario added, crossing his arms.

Nega narrowed his eyes, but still spoke calmly, looking over his shoulder, "What are you, my mother?" He looked at Blaze again and, clasping his hands together as some people might do when asking something politely, said, "Please, my dear raccoon, hand me the remote..."

"What? So you can just crush my mates like a buncha bugs with a giant ol' robot?" Marine asked, raising an eyebrow as she caught the remote and put her wrists on her hips. "What do you take me for, a dill?" She stuck out her tongue, turned, and smartly slapped her butt at him. "Catch me if you can, mate!" she laughed before darting off. Nega started at the actions before dashing after her, unamused. "OY! ASH! GET YERSELF OUTTA HERE! WE'LL DEAL WITH THIS WHACKA!" she called as she ran.

Ash looked to the other native worlders, who nodded. He nodded back. "Thanks, Marine!" he said before he and the pokémon started to run to the hotel.

Nega looked over his shoulder, shades gleaming again. "No, stay, I insist!" he said before snapping his fingers.

Instantly, appearing in flashes of light in the air above, a small army of rounded-bodied, humanlike robots in green fell and surrounded the area. Ash and co. skidded to a halt, Ash grimacing. "Great, he's stalling so he can get his giant robot!" he grumbled, turning his cap and calling his Keyblade.

''Well, if type-trumping indeed applies to us and our attacks, then this should be a breeze,'' Lucario commented, getting into stance while slapping on Brass-n-Blue.

Blaze came over, too. "I'll help, I've dealt with these many times," she told them. "Coconut Crew! Get inside while we take care of these Pawns!" she called louder, raising her head and looking back a bit. The koalas nodded and (though Gardon needed to be tugged) ambled into the hotel after the four in front of it cleared away the enemies.

The battle wasn't exactly difficult. A swarm of at least fifty of the robots surrounded the area, and they tried to shoot lasers or use lances, swinging or charging, at the group. Blaze had the easiest time. All she had to do was strike them with her Axel Spin or Jump and they instantly burst in a small explosion. For Ash, they only took two strikes before blowing up, one strike from Lucario thanks to him using Fighting-type moves (they were, indeed, Steel-type-equivalent). Pikachu, oddly, had the same luck whenever he did a rapid, flipping jump with Iron Tail or Spark. However, while their defense was abysmal, their attack strength wasn't something to sniff at; Ash really felt it when hit with a laser shot or (especially) a lance stab. (The clothes' magic must have protected him from extreme damage.)

But when the Egg Pawns were all gone, three giant, black robots with green accents landed from more flashes of light. Each one wielded a gigantic hammer that they both slammed down onto the ground and swung in a tornado-like fashion (standing with their legs still and their upper body rotating around, making use of their robotic nature). They didn't go down without a fair bit more than a few hits. "They're tougher than I remembered," commented Blaze. "Three passes with Fire Boost and they're usually history, but..."

Try as he might, Ash (musing how he was again in a city facing off against a giant armored robot) got struck by an attack, the tornado one, and felt himself on his last legs. His magic was out, too. To make things worse, poor Pikachu was knocked out from the intense force, as well. 'This would be a great time!' Ash thought, looking at Lucario as he landed. "Lucario! I'm gonna Drive with you!" he called.

Lucario looked over at him, then nodded.

Ash focused on his Drive Badge and focused on Lucario...focused harder...He had to be yanked back by Blaze before he was flattened by a hammer slamming down at him. "You shouldn't say you'll do something and then not do it!" scolded the cat once they landed.

Ash growled and countered, "Well, it worked before, with Pikachu!" angrily.

Lucario growled and launched an Aura Sphere at one of the robots after it stood, precariously balanced on one foot after the tornado swing, and succeeded in knocking it down. ''We'll deal with this later—right now, we've got a way to take them down,'' he said quickly before running off to attack. Ash used a potion on himself before dashing off to join him. While they were, indeed, tougher, the giant hammer-wielding robots went down after only a couple combos. A short time later, Blaze defeated the final robot.

Marine ran around the area of the city they were in, laughing and panting a little as Nega trailed her, using those long legs to his advantage. She had been running around the sidewalks of the area the battle happened in, but now decided to go down another road. She soon found a complication in the form of a magical (or in this case purely scientific and energy-based) barrier that was still up from the battle (proving that, yes, it affected NPCs as well as party members). She couldn't loop and go across the other side, or she'd be snatched from the side. She looked frantically around until she heard her name. "Marine! Over here!" She looked up and smiled at a flying Tails (who had been out of the fight to help in case this happened), then chucked it at him. It sailed up high, just barely out of reach of Nega's long arms, and Tails caught it before flying off in the other direction.

Nega growled and turned to look after before he grunted in surprise as Marine used his head as a stepping stone to catch onto Tails' other hand, the two flying off towards the main battle area of the loop. Nega, grimacing, trotted off, following.

"Game Over, Nega," Blaze's voice suddenly came from below his vision (he'd been looking up). Nega came to a stop and looked down, then stepped back as he saw Blaze standing, arms crossed and foot tapping as she glared up at him. Ash and the others came up behind her, still ready for battle. Tails and Marine landed behind them. Blaze lashed her tail. "Time for you to pay for your actions."

Nega grimaced more, stumbling back a bit, before humphing and clapping his hands twice. Swooping down from the top of a building, a round, flying vehicle with a chair in it, coated mostly in black, came for him. He jumped as high as he could into it before Blaze could get to him and was taken away by it. He piloted the machine high above them before stopping it and turning, tilting, back to them. "So I'm foiled this time, who cares," he told them, grinning again. "It's not like I need to do anything, anyway...revelations will come and do the work for me, you see."

"Revelations?" Blaze repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Hee-hee-hee! Sorry, but I'm above spoilers before they're due," he taunted. "Until we meet again, _au revoir_, children..." He turned in his machine.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Blaze shouted, raising a fist before running after him futilely. He took off, three jets in the back of the craft activating as he sailed past the hotel and into the night sky over the sea. Blaze came to a stop before throwing her hand away. "Dangit..." she muttered.

"Blaze, don't worry about it too much," Tails said, coming and placing a hand on her shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "You'll be seeing him again soon, if he's anything like Eggman."

"Well, he's usually the type to reveal himself only at the end of the ordeal," Blaze pointed out. "Eggman mostly shows his face right away, from what I've heard."

Ash and co. came over, weapons gone (and hat turned back) and Blaze turned, smiling with a hint of embarrassment. "Sorry about that," she said. "Eggman Nega is my arch-enemy, much like Dr. Eggman is Sonic's and Tails'. I hope his troublemaking wasn't too bad."

Ash shook his head, smiling. "Not at all," he replied.

"Well, now that that's all over, why don't we go inside, now?" Pikachu suggested, smiling.

They agreed, then went into the hotel together.

**-'-,-'-**

The Coconut Crew was all there when they got there again, after Big made them give the password again. Gardon instantly ran to check on Blaze, of course. 'Man, that guy's either totally loyal, or just plain obsessed,' Ash mused as Blaze insisted, slightly annoyed, that she was fine, and for him to stop calling her "Highness", already!

"Mr. Gardon, if you've been around Blaze for so long, why don't you know that she doesn't get boo-boos that easy?" Big asked Gardon after approaching him from behind, smiling down at him playfully.

Gardon turned and looked up, nodding assertively. "It's my duty to make sure that no harm comes to her...the princess!" he replied after a quick glance behind him.

Big chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, but she's fine, so you can stop worrying, now," he told him, raising an eyebrow in that same playful way.

Gardon opened his mouth, but Big just leaned his face down closer, and the koala, instead of replying, just sighed and nodded. "You know who to call if you need anything, Princess Blaze," he bowed to his liege before squeezing past Big.

Blaze watched him go before catching Big's eye. She raised her eyebrows when she realized what he'd just done. "Um...Thanks, Big," she said, surprised.

Big smiled broadly, and one could detect a minor hint of a blush on his cheeks. "Oh, I just want my friends to be happy," he dismissed.

Blaze gave a small smile at him before going past him, as well.

"I'll get my things, quick," Tails said to Ash, flying over the beds (and around Big) to another room.

"Ash, could you come over here?" Blaze asked after Big went and sat on the bed next to Muzy, who proceeded to use his girth as a backrest and strum a song on his guitar that was mostly dark, but had small sections of lightness, like small rays of hope in a field of shadows. It fit the new situation they were in very well—things were still distorted and dark, but the clouds had cleared, and a new day was waiting to dawn.

Ash and co. went over to Blaze, who stood by the table. Gardon stood next to her, looking protective as usual. Blaze stood with her hand on her hip. "I'm sorry if I was ever rude to you and your friends," she apologized. "And thank you very much for sealing my world's Keyhole and thus ensuring this world is safe from Heartless, even though there was another one of those skeletal ghost things..."

"Skeletal—?" Ash muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Blaze shook her head. "Long story, don't worry about it," she dismissed. "The point is, I want to give you something as a token of my thanks and a reminder of this world. I have a feeling you won't be coming back," she reasoned wryly, smirking.

Ash shook his head, smiling. "No, trust me, we'll see each other again," he said confidently.

Blaze chuckled at his slight, youthful naivete. "Well, whatever the case, you can't stick around here the whole time. And for when you're gone," she reached behind her, "I want you to have this as a memento." She held her fist out, and Ash opened his palm to receive it. Blaze deposited the item into his palm and he brought it up to look. It was a simple ring made of silver and set with a slanted (in relation to the ring's line) oval gem...no, that wasn't a gem—that was amber. A single flake within it, maybe a flaw, reflected the light. The silver ring made a decorative curve when it reached the hardened sap, a black line etched into it, on each side, making rotational symmetry. Ash swore he could feel a warmth coming from the stone.

Gardon gasped as he looked at the ring. "Princess Blaze! But that's—!" he exclaimed.

"I know, and I trust him to take care of it," Blaze cut him off and her eyes at him.

Gardon frowned. (More than usual, I mean.) "Keyblade-bearer or not, he's still only a boy..." he muttered.

Blaze shook her head. "Yes and no," she told him. She looked at Ash again. "I'm not sure if you're one for keepsakes, so that's why I decided on that," she told him. "It's a ring my mother gave me long ago. At first glance, it's perfectly dismissible as a plain ring. Even now, one might think of it as only a royal bauble. But to you, as you should be able to feel, it radiates power like a miniature sun of sorts."

Ash nodded, raising his eyebrows. "I thought it was just because of your body heat," he muttered.

Blaze shook her head. "It's been exposed to the energies of the Sol Emeralds," she explained. "You don't even need to wear it to make use of its powers—just keep it with you at all times. With it, you'll be filled with Sol energy, slightly but noticeably strengthening the power of the area of your body it sits near."

Ash raised an eyebrow at this, a plan formulating. "So...if I wear it on my finger, my arms will be stronger..." he muttered. Then he looked down at his legs. "But if I put it in my pocket, my legs will be stronger!"

Blaze nodded, smirking. "I could detect your frustration every time you tried to jump at those floating Heartless and only get at most a foot," she mused. "I had a feeling you might be able to help yourself a bit with it. You won't be any faster, unless you put it in a shoe—" Gardon gasped and held his chest "—but even then it wouldn't be that much of a difference. I never found a need for it, so I kept it inside an insulated pocket so that it wouldn't affect me—giving it to you is entirely harmless to me. And just because it radiates energy doesn't make it radioactive," she added, seeing a hint of panic in Ash's eye. "It's harmless to everyone. Just _don't _lose it," she instructed firmly.

Ash smiled broadly and pocketed it, using that small pocket in one's right pocket on one's jeans. It was tight and deep, and wide enough for things like pens, anyway. It was perfect. He could only get it out if he tried. Gardon breathed a sigh of relief when it went into his pocket and not his shoe. "I promise I won't," he vowed. "It'll be on me at all times. It'll help a lot when I'm searching for my friends!"

Blaze nodded, smiling. "Thank you," she said. "Good luck." She looked over and commented, "And we're done just in time, it seems," as Tails came through a door, carrying a bag over his shoulder.

"Oh? We giving out going-away gifts?" Tails asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well, cool! I've actually got something I salvaged from the ship I came and crashed in and fixed up that I found out I don't need. I'll give it to you when we get on your ship."

*****RECIEVED Amber Ring (enables Good Jump (AP:0))*****

"We should get going, now," Ash announced, smiling at everyone as he walked toward the door, waving. "Thanks, everyone! Good luck on fixing this place up!"

"We'll think of you and how much fun this place was, despite the weather," Pikachu laughed.

''It was our pleasure to help you,'' Lucario added, nodding with a small smile.

The Coconut Crew waved good-bye, saying various things all at once. Marine called above the hubbub, "Don't bungle up your ship, mates! And make sure the brakes work right fine!" (This second part confused Ash a little, but he mostly took it as a joke.)

"And don't give up finding your friends!" Big added, smiling and waving. "Even if they're small and hard to find in a big pond with all the other fish, you'll still find your best buddies, no matter what!" (Ash wasn't sure if he meant it as one, but he took it as a metaphor anyway and gave him a touched smile, thanking him.)

"I'll be back, guys! Don't blow the place up if you can!" Tails joked, waving as he walked off with them.

Blaze smiled a bit, standing with arms crossed. "We won't, unless Marine happens sooner than we think," she joked, earning a "HEY!" from the Aussie-accented raccoon. She chuckled and waved once at Ash. "Good-bye, and good luck," she bade.

Ash chuckled and smiled at her before turning and leaving.

**-'-,-'-**

Ash and co. walked back to their chairs on the bridge and flopped down, a bit mentally tired from the day's excursion. Tails found a passenger seat in the back, like with the EBA's Gummi Ship, and set a bag down before taking something out and turning to Ash, smiling. "So, Ash, you have anyone to mind your ship while you're gone, at all?" he asked.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "You mean, it could get taken?" he asked, somewhat panicked. "I thought it was, like, registered to me and so..." He trailed off.

Tails nodded. "Yeah, it is," he said, "but that doesn't mean someone can't come and hack it or anything." He pointed at him in smiling warning. "You should find someone to help out that wouldn't mind sitting here."

"I believe that is where I come in," said a somewhat monotone, male, computerized voice from one corner of the room.

The party whipped around, Tails giving a small gasp. From a door came a tall, bipedal robot. It had a smooth, lid-like yellow head forming the top of an almost ball-shaped upper body. A pair of green lenses looked out from the blackness under that lid. The body itself was mostly red, with a white stripe going down the middle. A "belt" of metal tubing went about its waist, having a black, thicker part in front, and ending in back in exhaust pipes. A home plate-shaped piece of metal hung down almost like a loin cloth from it in front. Black orbs formed shoulders, and from them came red arms. Well, the ends were red; half of each part of the limb was thinner, chrome metal. The ends nearest the wrists were banded in yellow, and clunky-looking, three-fingered hands of metal came from them. The chicken-like legs came from cylinders under the body and designed the same way, except the parts near the knee were both yellow-banded. A wheel stuck in back on each leg, where the ankle might be. Large, black, two-clawed feet came from them. It appeared as if it could sort of kneel down and use the wheels on the bottom to motor along. "As he said, one could hack into the security systems and break in," it said in that same voice as it stepped into the room.

"Chaos Gamma?" Tails exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. He then lowered them, on edge. "What are _you _doing here?"

Gamma stopped by Tails and faced the group as a whole. "As the alien lifeforms attempted to steal our planet, I stayed deep within Gimme Shelter," he began.

"Huh? Well, a 'please' would help, but I'm not sure if this is much shelter..." Ash muttered, looking around the bridge, looking a little embarrassed as he smiled and shrugged at Gamma.

Tails laughed, and Gamma's lenses briefly dimmed somewhat. "Gimme Shelter is a place with one of Eggman's stupid names," Tails explained.

"Yes," Gamma said, turning attention to him again. "Anyway...I felt the ground rumble, so I came outside to see what had occurred. Dr. Eggman was nowhere in sight, and he wouldn't pick up when I tried to contact him. Not that I minded that, but a robot under his rule cannot help but worry about surprise missions to be failed and punished for..." he added, looking away a bit by rotating his half-literal lid. He looked back and continued. "I decided, after finding little to no life left in the city, to take this chance and get out of there. I found a store and took shelter there so that I could use the generators it sold to recharge if needed, then thought for myself."

Gamma raised his right hand in front of his face. "You see, I'm actually a reconstruction, my codename 'Chaos Gamma' formerly being simply 'Gamma'. (My real name is E-102.) I was rebuilt using spare parts, many of which from my former self that exploded on the Egg Carrier after a battle, and made to be powered by a Chaos Emerald. Instead, I was powered by a mere shard, which was enough to power me and enhance my personality—hence I'm using contractions, something I'm told is different—but I felt cheated. After many encounters with the one to whom my Emerald went to, a Gizoid named Emerl, I was convinced by a small rabbit about the virtues of the concept called 'friendship', and gave my shard to Emerl. I have been running on rechargeable fuel cells since, though thankfully my personality program had enough time under the shard's influence to rewrite itself and remain as it is now." He lowered his hand.

"My memories of my past as the original Gamma were deleted before I was rebuilt, but ever since that rabbit negotiated with me, I've been experiencing strange feelings, which my processors identify most closely as nostalgia." He looked down at Tails, eyes actually tilting down instead of his head (which might not have been able to). "When I look at or think of you, or your annoying hedgehog friend, or anyone else who acts as if I'm an old friend to them...especially that pink hedgehog, I feel the desire for something I know I forgot. Something I somehow remember from my time before being rebuilt. Yet, why? My memories were deleted—reformatted. How could I be feeling such things?"

"Well, Eggman _does _have a knack for building sentient robots way too well," Tails said wryly, shrugging. "I doubt you want me to run a test, since you can do so yourself, so I don't know...unless..." He trailed off, this time, looking thoughtful again.

He looked at Ash. "I detected an incoming craft recently. I found it was his Gummi Ship, and I eavesdropped on a conversation between him and a lavender cat. Learning that Gummi Ships go between worlds, I somehow came up with the stupidest idea: Find a means to determine the cause of these feelings and act accordingly by exploring other worlds."

''So you waited for us to come, then hitch yourself a ride?'' Lucario guessed, crossing his arms and tilting his head with a raised eyebrow.

"Correct, blue dog...um...thing..." Gamma faltered. "...Error...no such creature found in database..." He sounded a little embarrassed.

"And he's not questioning multi-colored animals that only have above-average abilities," mused Pikachu, giving a smug, half-eyed cat mouth expression. Tails turned and asked what that was supposed to mean, but the little rodent laughed.

Ash raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "So, you asking to come with?" he asked.

"No, I'm just coming with," Gamma replied, raising his fists. "If you want to fight about it, be my guest. Analysis indicates a sub-par level of fighting ability from you and a low power level from all of you."

The other boys immediately glared and shouted at him for this, but most of all Ash, who anger-veined and held up a fist, stamping a foot. "_HEY!_ I'm not _THAT_ bad!" he defended hotly. "You don't have even the slightest _CLUE_ what I can do, _do_ you?"

''I agree—unless you are able to detect aura, or life force,'' Lucario nodded. He'd reacted the calmest of the four, simply standing with a paw on his hip.

Gamma replied, "Yes, I can, actually, and I cannot see what high levels of detectable life energy have to do with fighting ability."

Ash narrowed his eyes and used Focus to tap into his aura, looking serious. "Try that other scan again," instructed the Trainer, challenging the robot with his voice in a way that people might when they know they're right and are making sure, being a bit hurt and angry the whole time, ready to end saying that's what they thought.

Gamma obliged, pausing a moment. He twitched his arms up a centimeter. "...Fighting ability has suddenly increased dramatically," he reported, no emotion tinging his voice, though Ash wanted to think he was surprised.

Ash crossed his arms. "That's what I thought," he grumbled, finishing the described tone-describing example.

"Why should Ash trust you, Gamma?" Tails asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Because I can counter-hack anyone who tries to hijack the ship," Gamma replied, guard still up. "And because I feel confident in saying that I can defeat 90% minimum of any enemies."

"Oh, really?" Ash asked before summoning the Keyblade and getting into stance.

"Confirm demonstration request?" checked Gamma.

"Ye—"

"_WAIT!" _cried Tails in a bit of panic, holding his arms out as he rushed between the two. He sweatdropped and looked around, smiling nervously. "You wouldn't want to destroy the bridge of the ship, would you?" he asked.

Ash glanced at Tails, aura causing his eyes to glow slightly and give him a distinctive air. "I know, and I'd rather not, but I paid a _lot _for this ship, and if anyone's gonna be on it, they'd better at _least _ask first," he replied. "And besides, nobody gets away with calling me and my friends weaklings like that scott-free!"

''But, erm, Ash, we _are_ still sort of weak,'' Lucario muttered, sweatdropping and half-eyeing.

"He's got a point, Ash," Pikachu agreed, doing the same.

"I can handle him, I've done it before—both of him—but I'm not going to fight him just for calling me weak and being rude!" Tails exasperated, waving his hands around.

Ash frowned, thinking. 'He _does _have a point with his skills,' he knew. 'And I'm letting him push my buttons...' He got out of stance, holding the Keyblade in his right hand and standing normally, though he still looked unhappily at Gamma. He stopped the Focus. "I'll let you come with, as long as you apologize first," he stated.

Gamma began, "I won't apologize for what's tr—" before stopping. A couple seconds later, he let his arms down again. "I apologize. I suppose that was a bit rude. Please let me onto your ship."

"WAIT!" Tails cried again. They looked a little annoyed at him as he smirked and pointed at Gamma. "One more thing," he said.

"First he defends him, then he gives him another condition?" muttered Ash, raising an eyebrow, confused and a bit angry.

"Delete Eggman from your master registry," gave Tails, looking smug as he crossed his arms and stood straight.

Iris shutters closed over Gamma's eyes very briefly, as if he were blinking. "Reasoning?" he requested.

"Well, for one, it's what the old Gamma did," Tails replied, raising an eyebrow while keeping his expression. This made him look more smug.

"...And?"

'Thought that wouldn't be enough. He's too cautious.' "For two, Dr. Eggman is an evil, crazy jerk, and you implied that he punishes you unfairly at times," the fox added. He shrugged. "And with Eggman's track record versus me, Sonic, and the others, you'll just get the worst punishments if you do anything to further his plots, which he'll do eventually. That, or we'll have to bust you up like almost every other robot he's sent our way."

Gamma paused a moment, then said, "Well, I _am_ defecting from him..." (He lengthened "am" to emphasize it with his robotic voice.) "And to tell you the truth, I, as well as most of the other robots, actually share your reasoning. Quite frankly, as powerful and good a fighter as I am, you small, quick animals somehow always find a way to destroy anything with the 'Eggman' brand on its chassis."

Tails chuckled, which became a laugh when he saw Ash's humorously surprised face glancing between him and Gamma. "Man, and I thought _Team Rocket_ stank at being villains," Ash mused. "This Eggman guy's actually the leader of his own robot army, and even _they _think his plans are stupid. That's just amazing."

"Interesting fact:" Gamma suddenly said. "Dr. Ivo Robotnik has an IQ of 300."

Ash blinked, then smacked his forehead while erupting into laughter.

"As role-playing gamers say, 'Intelligence and Wisdom are two different scores,'" Tails said during this fit. "(Though I wonder if it's more of a Charisma issue, here...)"

After Ash was finished, he smiled and nodded to Gamma. "Alright, you ready?" he asked.

Gamma was silent for a moment before stating, "Master Registration deleted. Register new master?"

Ash blinked at this before sweatdropping and starting back, flustering as he shook his head and hands. "NO! Nonono, you don't need to register me!" he insisted.

"Good, because I wasn't going to, anyway," Gamma said entirely monotonously, perhaps as his way of speaking flatly.

Ash chuckled. "Anyway, Ash?" He turned to Tails, who was hiding something behind his back (specifically hiding this time, not pulling something from hammerspace as he and his friends always do) and smiling at him. "I thought you might need a little help with finding your friends, so I have someone that will help. Tah-dah!" He presented what looked like a robotic water drop with a body, arms, and legs...well, feet. The hands and feet, yellow and orange, were ball-like, the arms skinny and segmented, probably cables. The main body and head were made with blue and light blue plates of metal. Two orange oval eyes sat on the face, a straight line like a mouth between and beneath. The eyes looked like odd bottle bottoms, being ringed. An orange propeller sat on top, at the pointed tip. It was about the same size as Pikachu.

"What is it?" Ash asked as he took it, examining it with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly, it came to life, twitching and surprising him, making him yelp and stumble back. Its propeller started spinning, a mechanical whirring and clanking started up, and it soon was flying in the air in front of him, eyes lit up. "Hi! I'm Omochao!" said a nice, young boy voice that was a bit robotic, but seemed a bit more expressive than Gamma's voice. It was artificial, as a voice effect accompanying it made obvious. The line mouth proved to be decoration, as it did not move it while it spoke. "I'm here to help you!"

Ash, getting over his surprise, stood straight again, nodding happily. "Nice to meet you! I'm Ash," he replied.

"Omochao can interface with your ship's computer," Tails explained. "He can use a program and technology I built into him that allows your ship to access the pathways to other worlds without the need for a Navi-G." He looked sorry as he scratched the side of his head with a finger, smiling, "There's a way to make the worlds available to you, but I don't know how, sorry...He's for if you do find out."

"I'll also give you tips to help you if you need it," Omochao added happily. "You got anything I can communicate to you with?"

Ash raised his eyebrows before rummaging in his pockets before pulling out his Pokédex. "Um...well, I've got my Pokédex, but I'm not sure if it can-"

"That'll work fine, don't worry!" Omochao cut in, shaking his head. He hovered over and looked at the device. His eyes turned yellow as a soft beeping sound came from him. Then, his voice came from both him and the Pokédex, "There! Now I can contact you if anything comes up!"

Gamma stepped over. "Previous assumptions that you would be annoying and almost useless have now been neutralized," he stated to Omochao. "Now, I can use you to communicate to Ash Ketchum if the ship is being attacked while he is gone."

"You won't be joining us on the field?" Pikachu asked, raising his eyebrows.

Gamma shook his head. "Negative. I will instead wait, watching using the Gummi Ship's unique camera system that tracks the registered user. If you find anything that I find important, I will set a high-security lock and come down to accompany you. As well, Omochao can tell us if the ship is being attacked in my absence."

"I'll tell you right away if anything happens to this ship," Omochao asserted enthusiastically, thumping his little metal chest with a metallic _clink_. He spoke only through his own speaker, not the Pokédex.

"The annoying prospect has not been neutralized, however..." Gamma said flatly, dimming his eyes at Omochao. Ash guessed this was his version of half-eyeing.

"Alright, then, we ready to get going?" asked Tails, smiling at everyone.

"Lemme interface with the computer quick," Omochao said, flying to the dash before turning to face them and dropping onto it, bouncing in a sitting position a couple times. While it flew with its back turned, it was revealed that a wind-up key was turning in his back. A moment and more yellow eyes later, he raised a hand and chirped, "Okay! Where to? I can set your course for you if you'd like."

"Cool! Then set a course to Melee Arena," Ash said, getting into his chair. The others went to sit down. Gamma just went to sit down, folding up a bit, against a wall.

"Alrighty!" Omochao said, nodding. He sat almost like a teddy bear, arms out to the sides and feet up in front. A second later, he said, "Alright, looks like the way to it is opened, so you don't have to go through the route again. You wanna skip, or do you wanna go through the route and blow stuff up?"

Ash thought for a moment. 'It would be good experience, but...I kinda don't want to. Plus, it would endanger Tails...though I _did_ get through it before...' He shook his head. "Skip, please," he said.

"Okay, then! We'll be there shortly! Keep all limbs blah blah blah..." The engines hummed. "And away we go! Tell me if you need anythin'!" And he went out.

"Remember to wind him up now and then—he's one of the most advanced machines powered by clockwork ever," Tails told Ash before they went off. Ash nodded.

'Well, this journey seems to get more and more interesting,' Ash mused as the ship went through between-world-space at high speeds.

***-*-*OmAkE*-*-***

A minute later...

Tails: Heh...being inside a store for so long...What, was it the Megamart, Gamma?

Gamma: Yes, on 8th Street.

Tails: *chuckles* Man, I'd SO have fun in there if nobody else was around...*pauses* Did you get bored there?

Gamma: …

*flashback to Gamma, trundling around the Wal-Mart like store's gloss-covered tiled floors in wheel mode after the power came back on, the speakers playing Deep Purple's "Highway Star"*

Gamma: No.

***-*-*oMaKe*-*-***

(He's not saying that he was able to amuse himself enough to not be bored, he's just lying. X3)

Sorry this took so long, folks! And sorry nothing really real happened! Thanks for reading, of course. Now, to fix that little mess-up I did with the chapters...


	17. Letter from the Author

Dear readers,

Short and sweet, I can't write this anymore. It sucks too much and I just don't really have the time or energy to try and continue it.

So I'm lumping both fics together and rewriting it so that there's a real cohesive overarching plot, better ideas, and a new combat system not yet seen (3D hasn't come out at this time)! Not to mention the inclusion of another subplot I've been holding off on until now.

No more side stories. No Sonic side story, no Metroid side story. All the important plots are going to be together in one place. (Probably not written in perfect chronological order, buuuuuut...hey. Cut me some slack, this ain't easy. :P) As well, I'm so sorry to say this, but a few worlds I planned and one or two I've already done are going to be thrown out due to them not really fitting in the story.

Thank you SO much everyone who's favorited this fic or the other, but I've gotta stop it now. This fic will remain "Incomplete" until I finish the real one, like I did for "[Insert Game Title Here]: Gotta Cheer 'em All!".

Okay, timma wrap this up. I already posted the new fic—starting with the redo of Maru's story, chapter 1—and you can find it by searching for: "**Kingdom Hearts Re:Puzzle of Truth**".

Again, thank you all so much! I've had a lot of fun doing this fic, and I hope to continue having fun by making what I've got better!

Sincerely,

—FerreTrip


End file.
